Society of Talent
by irwegwert
Summary: The Ultimate Initiative was supposed to foster talent and lead to a cultural revolution. However, in response to the program, riots have broken out. In the aftermath, Shizu Saneyoshi, the Ultimate Strategist, has found herself kidnapped and forced to participate in a killing game. In a situation like this, will talent even help them anymore? (SYOC CLOSED)
1. Prologue: Game Start 01

A pair of hazel eyes snaps open. For a brief moment, she isn't sure exactly where she is. Then, as her sleep-addled brain slowly gets caught up to speed, she remembers. The aches of sleeping on a rock hard bed, the smell of the cramped living quarters, and the lack of any direct sunlight all come back to her.

Shizu Saneyoshi is in prison.

Now that she's woken up, her sleeping position no longer feels comfortable. She shifts around, tossing and turning for a moment until she accidentally gets some of her hair in her mouth. Disgusted, she spits out the offending brown lock. She hasn't been able to comb it in ages, and the ends are starting to get tangled in a greasy mess. Thinking about it now, it's also getting a little long for her liking.

Shizu gives up, having realized that her cell will never help her relax, stretches a little, and sits up on her bed. She reaches over to the table on the other side of her room to pick up her glasses. They somehow got smudged overnight, much to her displeasure. With a quick wipe, she puts them on. She winces when the long sleeve of her striped prison garment comes into focus. Even if she can't see outside, she's confident in her ability to wake up at the same time each morning. Staying idle in jail for so long hasn't dulled her senses.

For the umpteenth time, she contemplates her surroundings. All things considered, Shizu supposes that she could have worse lodgings. The lack of any nearby cellmates is both a blessing and a curse. It isn't solitary confinement by any means, but she could do with someone to talk to. The bed isn't long enough, either. She has to curl her feet up at night to prevent her legs from dangling over the edge. They have to know how tall she is, so why give her such a small bed? It's already uncomfortable enough wearing these itchy prison clothes without having to contort her body. And it takes ages for her sink to get any hot water. Couldn't they spare some kind of expense for-?

Shizu shakes her head abruptly, as if to stop herself. No, they don't owe her anything, and she's already made her choice. Even if she is the Ultimate Strategist, that shouldn't get her any bonuses in her lodgings. If anything, given how they reacted when she confronted them, she should be lucky that they gave her the basics.

Bile rises up in her throat. Suddenly, she doesn't want to think about the past any more.

As if to answer her prayers, she hears footsteps coming towards her cell. She runs a hand through her tangled, wavy hair, wondering who it could be. A pair of guards, as it turns out. It should have been obvious, in retrospect. However, given her position, she wouldn't be surprised to see someone else.

"Saneyoshi," he speaks with a clear voice. "Follow me." He unlocks her cell and pulls her out harshly. His partner steps behind her, handcuffs at the ready. Not like she's going to run away, not at this point, so she inwardly laughs at the security.

At least they aren't pushing her, Shizu thinks as she walks between the two guards. The march through the facility is slow and melancholy. Once they walk past the usual interrogation room, she understands what this is all about. Today was probably the day that she gets moved to another, higher security prison. What fun.

A few people mutter as they watch the entourage pass by them. It's probably not every day that they see an Ultimate in such a position, doubly so for one that some of them have actually worked with. Shizu instinctively picks up on some of their conversations but quickly attempts to distract her brain by adjusting her glasses.

They lead her out through the back door. The sunlight catches her off guard. Was it always so bright, even so early in the day? Still, she slowly walks forwards, seeing her destination in front of her. A large van is waiting to take her away.

The minute she gets situated in the back, the doors slam shut. She closes her eyes and leans back but jolts back to attention when she hears a banging sound, like someone is knocking on the door.

"Shizu! Shizu!"

It's the voice of her old boss. She slowly angles her head towards the noise. Sure enough, she sees him through the window in the back. He's panting fairly hard, meaning that he probably ran as fast as he could to see her off. Despite his obvious exhaustion, his fists aren't letting up.

He finally speaks up after panting for a few moments. His voice is pleading. "Shizu, there's still time to change your mind! You've been a great help to everyone so far. We've made so much progress on stopping the riots. You know that the rioters might have gotten more advanced weaponry. Think about how much danger they are to the public. Just a little more and everything will be back to normal again!"

She suppresses a shudder when she imagines the gunshots and screams. Yeah, she's been _really_ helpful to everyone. A true hero of the people. The protest runners might hate her, but they don't deserve to die.

Seeing her lack of a reaction, he changes tactics quickly. "Come on, Shizu. Think about everything we've done for you! The Ultimate Initiative completely changed your life, right? You're basically set for life now. Do you really want to throw that all away?"

Shizu admits that it was nice to not have to worry about money at all. Plus, those years she spent plotting out campaign strategies were some of the most fun she's ever had. But even so…

She tears her eyes away from his, choosing to stare at the floor of the vehicle instead. A large part of her desperately wants to defend her actions again, yet she forces herself to stay silent. At least she can't dig herself any deeper.

As the van's engine starts, Shizu hears a muffled sigh and some footsteps slowly trudging out of earshot. That… was probably her last chance to change her mind. She won't let herself regret this choice, though.

Not for the first time, she wishes that she had one of her notebooks.

Mercifully, the engine's hum keeps the trip from being completely silent. Shizu doesn't know what she would do if she had to be alone with her thoughts in this situation. She isn't sure how much time had passed or how long the trip would be. The rhythmic humming soothes her a little, and she closes her eyes.

BOOM!

The van goes flying. Shizu hits the side as it rolls over and over. The entire world is spinning, and she feels like she's going to throw up. Just when she thinks it might have stopped, another explosion rings out, followed by several more. The van sent into a seemingly endless spiral. The back doors come clean off of their hinges.

The last thing that Shizu thinks, as her vision fades to black, is that she definitely won't be able to regret anything soon.

* * *

 _Shizu's Notes (confiscated upon arrest)_

 _The Ultimate Initiative_

 _\- Put in place by Japanese government to support the best of the best_

 _\- Given almost unlimited funds to practice talent, national spotlight, and access to opportunities of all kinds_

 _\- No applications, need to be scouted_

 _\- Worldwide search, will cover all expenses for those outside of Japan to immigrate_

 _\- Currently on its fifth year_

 _Ultimate Protests(?) (Riots?) (Protests)_

 _\- Money for Ultimate Initiative comes directly from public_

 _\- People upset that funding to other programs got cut_

 _\- Started about three years after Initiative put in place_

 _\- Recently got more violent_

 _\- Contacted by government to put a stop to them_

 _\- How did they get weapons?_

 _\- Lives in danger, there isn't any other choice_

 _\- Have to stop them_

 _\- Didn't have a choice_

 _\- Should I have even called them riots?_

* * *

A/N: Yep, it's another one of these things. I've been planning on writing this for a while, but there have been so many good ones recently that I got discouraged. After all, I'm fairly new to writing like this. If you couldn't tell from what I've written, this is an AU. There's no huge Tragedy or anything, although there certainly are quite a few riots going on. I've tried to get most of the relevant details into Shizu's notes, but, if I didn't explain well enough or you have more questions, please feel free to PM me and ask. Thank you for your time, and I hope I don't disappoint anyone.

Rules:

1\. Character forms should be sent via PM, titled "Society of Talent: [Character Name], [Talent]. I will ignore any forms that posted in the review section.

2\. Talents can be ones from canon, but please keep in mind that Ultimates are being scouted by the government. Stuff like "Lucky Student", "Slacker", or "Mafia Member" wouldn't make much sense.

3\. Delete the parentheses on the form. Please. I beg of you. Just… just delete them. It makes it so much easier to read.

4\. Each person can submit a maximum of three characters.

5\. If your character is already in another story, I will not accept them. The same goes for OCs that are currently waiting to be accepted or rejected. Rejected OCs are completely fine, however.

6\. There are 14 character slots open. I'm not going to necessarily balance genders either, so feel free to also submit non-binary characters or other genders.

7\. This is not first-come first-served. Feel free to take as long as you want on the form, so long as you submit it before the deadline.

8\. The deadline is July 27th. If you need a little more time, please PM me and ask for an extension. If you do require an extension, please do not PM me the day before.

* * *

OC FORM

-Basic-

(anything with * next to it is optional)

Name: (First name, then last name)

Age: (17-24 is around the range I'm looking for, so you'll have to really justify any other ages)

Gender and Pronouns: (No restrictions on gender)

Height and Weight: (In U.S. units, please)

Sexuality: (No restrictions on sexuality)

Talent: (Try to make this something that would actually get them scouted)

Nationality: (No restrictions, except please don't make up a country)

Race:

-Appearance-

Physical Appearance: (Stuff like build, hair style, eye color etc.)

Regular Outfit:

Sleepwear:

Physical Disorders*:

Voice and Speech Patterns: (What does their voice sound like? Do they talk a certain way?)

-Personality-

Personality: (This is literally the most important section, so please give me some detail.)

Mannerisms/Habits:

Mental Disorders*:

Food Preferences*: (Are they a vegetarian? Do they have favorite foods? Are they allergic to anything?)

Fears:

People They'd Like:

People They'd Dislike:

Romance*: (Is there a type of person they would fall in love with? Both looks and personality-wise)

-Backstory-

History: (This is probably the second most important section, so this section should also go in depth.)

Thoughts on Ultimate Initiative: (The Ultimate Initiative provides funding, opportunity, and (possibly) fame. However, this doesn't mean that they have to have a positive view of it.)

Thoughts on the Ultimate Protests/Riots: (While the Protests/Riots are angry at the Ultimate Initiative, not all participating members hate the Ultimates themselves. It's possible that your character may be more sympathetic or an active participant instead of fearing or hating them.)

Important People in Their Life: (Friends, family, enemies, pets, etc.)

Secrets: (Both major and minor things that they wouldn't want anyone to find out.)

-Killing Game-

Victim Justification: (What would make them a good potential victim?)

Murderer Justification: (What would make them a good potential killer?)

Mastermind*: (Would you be OK with your character being the mastermind? No justification needed but feel free if you want to.)

Possible Motives: (Try to give at least two.)

Investigation: (Innocent and Guilty)

Participating during a Trial: (Innocent and Guilty)

Execution: (This doesn't need to be a complete execution, just some an idea or two to springboard off of.)

-Dialogue-

(Answer any two of these as your character would answer them. This is so I can get a sense for how they might talk. You don't need to fill out all of them, but feel free it you want to. Also, you can have your character lie, but, if you do, please state that they're lying.)

You've won the lottery. What do you do with all of the money?

Would you kill someone if it meant saving another's life?

What's your ideal vacation?

What is the best animal to have as a pet?

Other Quotes: (if this is one of the two you chose, please give at least 3 quotes)

-Other-

Preferred Banlist: (Is there anything that you would feel uncomfortable seeing your character do or participate in? Don't say kill someone or be killed, because I will just ignore it.)

Other: (If there's anything not covered in the rest of the form that you think is important, you can put that here.)

* * *

Current Submitted Talents:

Strategist

Video Blogger

?

Coroner

Protester

Riot Police Officer

Winemaker

Drag Racer

Explorer

Historian

Violinist

Epidemiologist

Kamishibaiya

Chemist

Parkourist

Beekeeper

Dating Simulator Programmer

Weapons Engineer

Horse Rider

Sports Photographer

Mixologist

Fortune Teller

Baker

Marine Biologist

Conservationist

Cover Artist

Butler

Zoologist

Breakdancer

Oceanographer

* * *

Current Genders:

Male: 14

Female: 13

Demimale: 1

Agender: 1

Genderfluid: 1

(Again, I'm not necessarily going to balance out genders. This count is simply for everyone else's sake.)


	2. Prologue: Game Start 02

The first thing Shizu notices is some kind of high-pitched noise. It's loud and ear-grating, even more so due to her sleep addled mind. Deciding to ignore whatever it is, she snuggles deeper into her fluffy sheets, preparing to fall back into her slumber.

Wait. Fluffy sheets?

This time, her eyes shoot open like they do almost every other morning. Since when have her prison sheets been this comfortable? She sits up suddenly. She props herself up on her left hand and is shocked to feel it sink a little into the mattress. Her mattress isn't made out of rock anymore. It's an actual mattress! Looking down, she's notes that she was resting underneath a colorful patchwork quilt. The material is soft to the touch. She grips it tighter and holds it closer to her chest in disbelief.

Shizu would love to sink back down, but there's something sticking in the back of her mind. Surely this isn't the prison she was being transported to. They wouldn't give her a cell with such a nice bed, even if she was an Ultimate.

Actually, now that she's looking around, the entire room seems much nicer than any prison cell. For starters, it's fairly large, much larger than even her room back at home. The floor is made out of a blue, shag carpet. As her eyes run along the line where the floor meets the wall, her eyes eventually land upon an actual piece of furniture in the far right corner of the room. There's what appears to be a large closet made out of wood. It looks new, shiny, and expensive. She then notices the large, ornate mirror hanging on the wall next to the closet and to the left of the door. The door! There aren't even any cell bars in sight. She's still in disbelief as her eyes roam across from the closet where she finds another door. As it is propped open, Shizu can see something that looks like a shower. The floor there looks to be made of cool, blue tile. Does she have a full bathroom her too? There must be some sort of catch.

Then, Shizu finds it as she finishes scanning the room. A wooden desk stands up against the leftmost wall. It has a swivel chair and several drawers, but her eyes dart to the monitor propped on top of it. That monitor is the source of the noise that had roused her from her slumber. A red exclamation point flashed every few seconds, with each flash signaled by an ear-piercing beep.

There's no way that she's going to put up with that for any longer. She pushes herself off of her bed, stumbling slightly while trying to stand up. As quickly as her sluggish, aching limbs allow, she moves over to the desk. There doesn't appear to be any mouse of keyboard. Is the screen a touch pad? Seeing no other logical option, she pokes the exclamation point.

The beeping instantly ceases, as the exclamation point vanishes. For a few moments, there's silence. The screen is pitch black. Then, someone begins talking.

"Ahem… Greetings, Shizu Saneyoshi, the Ultimate Strategist. I'd like to be the first to welcome you to your new home."

There's only sound, no picture. The voice is squeaky and irritating but at least it isn't as bad as what preceded it. Shizu flinches at the mention of her title. What's this "new home" business about?

"You might be wondering where exactly this new home is." Here, the voice pauses for dramatic effect. "However, I'm afraid that's on a need to know basis only. So figure it out yourself if you're that curious, you brat!"

Whoever this is sounds unstable. Only a few sentences into their speech and they've already changed emotions several times.

"I hope everything's comfy, cause you're gonna be living here for quite some time. It'd be such a shame if you hated living here. I've already gone through the trouble inviting all sixteen of you Ultimates here to play a little game, after all."

Shizu can hear the speaker's tone dripping with sadistic glee. "Game?" she mutters under her breath, almost instinctively.

It must be a recording, since the person speaking doesn't appear to take any note of her accidental interjection. They continue on, "Well, I shouldn't give too many spoilers right off the bat, but this game is gonna rock your world! Isn't that thrilling? Well, don't get your hopes up just yet. There's still a lot more we need to go through before all of the heart pounding excitement. I bet you haven't even met anyone else yet. So, please try to contain your excitement for now, OK?"

"What on Earth?" There's still so much that Shizu doesn't understand. There's simply too much for her to process.

"For now," the voice concludes cheerfully, "Please come to the briefing room on the 2nd floor. I think we should all meet face to face. Until then, toodles!"

The monitor clicks, and then…. silence. Shizu has no idea what to think. There are fifteen other people in here? And she's supposed to play some kind of game with them? She grips her head in vain, as if to halt her brain from running a mile a minute. For a few minutes, she simply sits at the desk in silence, unable to hold on to any of her thoughts.

As if her mind rebooted, she suddenly stands up. The voice told her that she had to go to the briefing room, wherever that was. It would be wise to follow the instructions for now. Before that, however, she should change out of her clothes. She hadn't thought much about what she was wearing, as it had the familiar blue and white stripes of her prison uniform. Given time to focus on it has made her realize that the material is much softer. If she didn't look like an inmate, she might just continue wearing it.

With no other options, Shizu walks towards the wardrobe and immediately frowns. The clothes on offer aren't much better. The shirt is just a variation on what she's already wearing, albeit with shorter stripes. At least she has a pair of blue jeans to wear to shake things up. What's most alarming is that this appears to be the only outfit available. Sure, there are multiple shirts and pants, but they're all exactly the same. Well, she also has copies of those prison pajamas she's currently wearing, but that's definitely out of the question.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spots two black blazers hanging on the inside of both wardrobe doors. They aren't quite her usual style, but they would probably cover up most of the stripes or at least divert attention away from them. She sees no better options and starts changing. However, when she grabs the leftmost blazer and starts to put it on, she notices a hard spot in the left pocket. She scowls as she fishes out the offending object.

It's a notepad! Shizu's face visibly lights up. She flips it open eagerly, and, to her delight, all of the pages are blank. There is a black pen attached as well. She loses herself in her thoughts once more. This time, however, she can capture them. Her scribbles fill the void of the once silent room. Despite herself, she feels herself smile.

Satisfied for now, she moves to tuck the notepad back into her pocket while turning towards the mirror. She stops once she looks at her reflection, noticing some things she didn't before. First, she's already wearing her glasses. In her sleepy haze, she hadn't realized that they were already on her face when she woke up. Apparently, she somehow got her shirt on without noticing them as well. How out of it was she? Next, her hair isn't tangled up any more. The waves are nice and smooth, even after changing her outfit. She runs a hand through it experimentally and finds that it's no longer oily either. Finally, and most curiously, there's a small cut on her face. When did she get that?

An image of the van rolling over pops into her head, and she flinches back. …That might explain things. Although, thinking it through, it's strange that she isn't more injured. As far as she can tell, all of her bones are intact, and her head isn't bruised. Sure, her body is a little sore, but she feels fine. Something is clearly wrong. But there isn't any time to dwell on that.

It's high time that Shizu got some answers. She tugs a bit on her blazer before pushing open the door and heading out into the unknown.

* * *

 _Shizu's Notes_

 _Room_

 _\- Oddly comfortable, probably not prison?_

 _\- Includes bathroom_

 _\- Nice furniture, well maintained, recently cleaned_

 _\- How did I get here?_

 _\- Whoever is behind this styled my hair, why?_

 _Strange Message_

 _\- Don't recognize the voice, possibly modified pitch to sound higher to hide identity?_

 _\- Have to play a game, voice is possible game master_

 _\- Somehow captured 16 Ultimates, clearly has some kind of power_

 _\- Why Ultimates for this game? Necessary for some reason?_

\- " _Game" sounds menacing_

 _\- Unsure of game type, but 16 people implies possible tournament bracket setup?_

 _Missing Time?_

 _\- Cannot remember getting cut on my face_

 _\- Should be injured more after car crash_

 _\- In coma for a long time? Super medicine? Incredibly lucky to not get hurt?_

* * *

A/N: Hello, it's me again. Sorry this second part is also pretty short, but I didn't want to stretch things out too much, and I'm also still not a good writer, oops. Whatever the case, I hope this gives an interesting first look at what situation the characters will find themselves in. The deadline's still a ways away, so, if you're making a character, there's no need to feel rushed. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me and ask. I'll try to get back to you as soon as possible. And thank you so much to everyone who already submitted a character. The fact you were interested enough in the story to do so means a lot to mean. I hope you all have a fantastic day. Unless you don't want to. In that case, have a mediocre day.


	3. Cast List

Hey folks. One last time I'd like to thank everybody who submitted. There were a lot of great characters, and I'm sorry that I couldn't fit all of them into the story. That being said, you are probably wondering about the cast list. ...Actually, you've probably already looked down and seen it already, so why did I even type out this paragraph?

1\. Shizu Saneyoshi, the Ultimate Strategist (me)

2\. Tsubame Watari, the Ultimate Kamishibaiya (TheRoseShadow21)

3\. Michio Kokkaku, the Ultimate Coroner (liammarklh88)

4\. Kazuha Kimura, the Ultimate Zoologist (Crimson Spider Lily)

5\. Sawako Kido, the Ultimate Riot Police Officer (mayurie)

6\. Fumika Amari, the Ultimate Historian (Lupus Overkill)

7\. Hachi Hachimitsu, the Ultimate Beekeeper (zephryr)

8\. Soraru Kishinuma, the Ultimate Baker (AnonChan1)

9\. Takumi Haruko, the Ultimate Cover Artist (R3dLuvSingin)

10\. Kogi Bodo, the Ultimate Protester (PainX65)

11\. Chouki Awadachi, the Ultimate Marine Biologist (KISL)

12\. Morgan Feysonn, the Ultimate Fortune Teller (Ziggymia123)

13\. Kaixi Cheng, the Ultimate Sports Photographer (RioA)

14\. Palaemon Katsaros, the Ultimate Oceanographer (Abitat Eco)

15\. Samia Bahouri, the Ultimate Epidemiologist (Treeja)

16\. Joshua Miller, the Ultimate Video Blogger (me)

I'm really happy with the cast I got, so I hope I can do everyone justice. I'm not exactly the fastest or best writer, so updates will likely be a little slow. I'll try and get the prologue out of the way as soon as possible, however. Once more, thank you for your time, and I hope you have a fantastic day.


	4. Prologue: Game Start 03

Beta Read by Lupus Overkill

* * *

Shizu's footsteps echo as her feet leave the shag carpet of her room and land on tile. The dingy, metallic walls cause the sound to reverberate throughout the hallway. She takes a look back at her cozy quarters before sighing and allowing the door to slam shut. As it does so, she hears a small click. Curious, she tries the handle, only for it to jiggle slightly. So, she is locked out.

A little frustrated with this turn of events, she considers the door again. Right in the middle of it is a pixel image of a woman. Judging from the glasses, hair color, and attire… is that supposed to be her? It is fairly basic, even by pixel art standards, but it seems to be there to show that this is her room. She really hopes that this picture wasn't the reason she only has one outfit.

Her gaze moves downwards, below the handle. It looked as though there's a card reader. Presumably, this is how she unlocked the door. She hadn't seen a card in the room, so this may be the mystery voice's way of forcing her to go to the meeting spot. Next, she glances to the side at the small button fixed on the wall. It's probably a doorbell. However, when she presses it, she can't hear the ring from the other side. Hmm…

After taking a few moments to jot down her findings, she fully takes stock of her surroundings. She walks into a rectangular hallway. Sheets of metal line the walls. Thankfully, they're dull so that the light coming from the lamps shining from the ceiling isn't reflecting everywhere. She notices three doors on the opposite side of the hallway, and, when she looks back, she takes note of a door next to hers. On both ends, the walls come together slightly, leading off into the distance. However, the leftmost path is blocked off by steel bars. There is a sign hanging on them, but she can't stomach looking in that direction for too long.

The only path available to her is to the right. However, Shizu isn't prepared to leave just yet. There are fifteen other Ultimates trapped in this building, if the voice was to be believed. Fifteen other people to compete against. Though the nature of the game was still a mystery, it seems prudent to get to know others as soon as possible. Though she would also love to question them about what they know of the situation, that may put them on the defensive immediately. It may even make them unwilling to talk. For now, she should stick to understanding their personalities.

She walks left, towards the door next to hers. The plate on the door holds a similar pixel image, although this one depicts a tall, blond-haired woman in dark clothing. Disappointingly, though not unexpectedly, there is neither a nameplate nor any indication of what her talent might be. Steeling her nerves, Shizu presses what she assumed was the doorbell and waits. Several seconds pass, but there is no response. Perhaps the doorbell isn't working? Shizu waits a few more moments before knocking loudly. Still, nobody comes to the door.

Shizu decides to try her luck with the other doors. Moving across the hall, she comes to the door with a picture of a pink haired woman wearing a baseball cap. Once more she rings the doorbell and, once that fails to produce results, knocks. Just as before, the only sound in the hallway is the echo of her fist against the door. She tries again with the door on the right, where a dapper man with short brown hair is apparently staying. Not even bothering with the doorbell this time, she raps hard on the steel door. She gets nothing but slight pain in her hand for her efforts.

For the sake of completion, she raises her hand to beat on the final door. Before she can strike or even register to pixel portrait of the resident, the door swings open. A pair of hazel eyes stares up at Shizu's fist before their owner takes a step back.

"…Oh, I'm sorry. Can I help you?" The woman's shock had worn off a bit faster than Shizu's, as she leans forwards again and smiles. She still seems slightly nervous, however, as she shuffles around in place and tugs on the bottom of her green cowl-necked jumper.

Shizu only had to look down slightly to meet her gaze, moving past her fringe. She scanned the woman in front of her briefly, noting her dark brown plait hairstyle and her black skort before meeting her eyes again. "Apologies for almost hitting you. I'm Shizu Saneyoshi, Ultimate Strategist." She says it instinctively and almost bites her tongue in frustration. Nevertheless, she immediately presses on. "Am I correct in assuming you heard the announcement too?"

The woman nods in response. "Yes, I did. It's nice to meet you, Shizu, even in these circumstances. I am Tsubame Watari. I am… um, that is, I have been given the title of Ultimate Kamishibaiya." At these words, Tsubame gives a little bow.

"Kamishibaiya?" Shizu racks her brain for a moment. "That's the paper play storytelling, correct? I can't remember all of the details, unfortunately."

Tsubame's smile grows at the recognition. "Yes, that's right! It's a dying art form, so I'm glad you simply are aware of it. You take a set of pictures, stick them in a tiny stage, and display them one by one to tell a story."

The memories are coming back to her now. "That sounds familiar… Thank you for explaining."

"Thank you for indulging me," Tsubame replies with joy. "It's my favorite way to tell stories. There is so much you can do with the medium. It can be a little depressing to see so few people recognize it or even perform it."

"Sounds as though you're bringing it back into style then." Shizu pretends to look to the side casually as she says this, but she sees Tsubame start shuffling again at the mention of this.

"I… suppose that… one could make that argument," Tsubame's voice lowers as she speaks.

Before the silence can go on, Shizu cuts in, "Sorry for rushing you, but I believe we both have a meeting to attend to."

"Oh, you're right." Cheer comes back to Tsubame's voice. She begins to step out of her room, but she stops when Shizu holds out her hand.

"One moment please. Did you happen to find a card key anywhere in your room?" she asks.

"I don't think so," responds Tsubame. "There was not much lying around in my room. Why?"

Shizu tests the doorbell while listening to the kamishibaiya speak. As expected, there's no ringing coming from inside. Once ready, she answers, "These doors lock once they're closed. See that slot there?" She gestures towards it. "My best guess is that we each have specific card keys for our rooms. If you couldn't find yours either, then they'll probably be handed out later."

Tsubame seems satisfied with that answer. "That would be one more reason to hurry to this meeting then." She steps outside, her light-pink converses clacking against the tile. As the door clicks shut behind her, she looks at the rest of the doors. "Should we try meeting the others before we go?"

"Nobody answered when I knocked. Either they're still asleep or they've already headed off." With that, Shizu and Tsubame head off together down the right hallway. Shizu pulls out her notepad but quickly looks back at her companion. "My apologies for not asking this sooner, but would you please tell me your gender?"

She blinks in confusion at the notepad but smiles at the question. "I'm female. Thank you for asking."

Their conversation comes to a halt as Shizu furiously scribbles.

* * *

 _Tsubame Watari_

 _\- Female, probably about my age_

 _\- Ultimate Kamishibaiya (tells stories with pictures as visual aid)_

 _\- Friendly, positive, but perhaps lacks confidence or dislikes fame_

 _\- Seems calm, not too outwardly worried about the situation?_

* * *

It's only a short walk until they come to another opening. Directly across from them is another barred off hallway with the same black and white picture hanging on the bars. However, to their left is what appeared to be a large freight elevator. An opening that leads to a stairwell is on their right.

Shizu and Tsubame look at each other before both deciding to take the elevator. As they get closer, they are able to read the plaque hanging above the elevator call buttons. Apparently, they're on the fourth floor.

When Shizu reaches out to call the elevator, she hears footsteps coming from behind her. She turns her head past Tsubame to see a tall man dressed in a fancy clothes walking towards them. His brown hair styled in a tapered cut, his black dress shirt over his white vest, and even his grey dress pants and black dress shoes… they all give him a very professional look. This is contrasted by his long his red tie, which has been left undone and hanging in front of his shoulders. Once he notices them, his green eyes widen, and he breaks into a run. "Hold that door!" he yells.

"We haven't even pressed the button," Shizu calls back. He must be in great physical shape, as his outfit isn't slowing him down at all.

He slows down as he approaches. "Oh, my bad. I didn't want to miss it." He looks at the two of them for a second before winking. "Especially not with two lovely ladies right here."

Shizu gives him a flat stare while Tsubame starts fidgeting again.

To his credit, he backs off after seeing their reactions and recovers quickly. "But where are my manners? Michio Kokkaku, Ultimate Coroner, at your service. I hope we can all get along."

There's a brief instance where neither of them know what to say. That isn't the talent Shizu expected from someone dressed like that. Eventually, Tsubame takes the initiative, reaching out to shake his hand. "I'm Tsubame Watari the Ultimate Kamishibaiya."

"Shizu Saneyoshi. Ultimate Strategist." Taking out her notepad again, Shizu then asks him, "If you don't mind, what's your gender?"

Michio winks again and taps a finger to his head. "Male, of course. You can't tell by my rugged charm?" He catches onto Shizu's annoyance again and flinches. "I know, I know, I'm sorry. Just trying to lighten to mood a little…"

Once more, Tsubame comforts him. "It's okay. The circumstances are… strange, but all we have to do is play a game, correct? If so, I do not believe there's much to be worried about."

Michio raises an eyebrow at that. "That's… not exactly the impression I got from all of this."

"Do you not like games?" She tilts her head in concern.

His frown deepens. "That's not really the issue here. You all heard the announcement too, right?" After getting confirmation, he continues, "That voice sounded pretty suspicious to me. Not to mention the fact that we all got kidnapped in the first place. Getting jumped by a bunch of dudes in black masks is not my idea of a good time."

"Oh, I suppose that makes sense…" Her voice trails off. "I only woke up here. I was probably taken while I was sleeping…"

"…The same goes for me." Technically, Shizu's not lying. Her grip on her notepad tightens after she tells her half-truth. "Whoever kidnapped everyone may not have considered subtlety important for dealing each of us. Either they're very confident or very desperate. I don't know which is worse."

Michio considers her words while pushing the elevator button. "Well, we'd better stay on their good side as long as possible then. Care to accompany me to the second floor?" He flashes another grin, although it looks more strained than his previous ones.

The trio step into the freight elevator. It's metallic and spacious. It makes sense if there truly are sixteen people trapped here. There may be some occasions where everyone needs to get on, so the extra space may be necessary. Tsubame walks all the way to the back while Shizu and Michio both move towards a touchpad to select a floor. Strangely, the only floors available are the second, third, and fourth. Why is the first floor blocked? Michio selects the second floor while she ponders the strange circumstances they've found themselves in.

* * *

 _Michio Kokkaku_

 _\- Male, definitely younger_

 _\- Ultimate Coroner (experienced with dead people, probably member of the police force)_

 _\- Oozes confidence, tries to make others comfortable_

 _\- May also be able to keep his cool? Potentially very reliable_

 _\- Dresses professionally, would be more charming if not for instinctive flirting_

* * *

The elevator suddenly halts on the third floor. Shizu and Michio both step away from the entrance as it opens. It seems someone else is making their way to the second floor as well.

A suspicious young man walks inside. Shizu can barely make anything of him. His face is covered by a dark red bandana, so she can only make out the blue of his eyes. The hood of his grey hoodie is up as well. She thinks his skin tone looks a little olive, and maybe his hair looks long and red, but that's about it. He's got his hands tucked into the pockets of his black pants, so she can't even tell if he's wearing gloves or not. Is that a chain wrapped around his right arm? Who is this person?

He doesn't say a word as the doors close behind him. He simply marches to the back of the elevator and leans against the wall a good distance away from Tsubame.

It's Michio who decides to break the silence. "Hey man, glad to have you on board. Name's Michio Kokkaku, Ultimate Coroner. My friends here are Tsubame Watari and Shizu Saneyoshi. Kamishibaiya and Strategist respectively." He gestures grandly at the two of them before returning to the topic at hand. "Want to introduce yourself?"

For a good while, the only sound is that of the elevator traveling downwards. The mystery man doesn't seem keen on answering. Just as Michio begins turning away, he speaks up. "…Kogi Bodo."

"Nice name. It suits you well." Unperturbed by Kogi's stiffness, Michio presses forward. "I'm sure your talent is just as good."

Kogi closes his eyes and sighs. This time, his silence lasts until the elevator stops again. He speaks up as the doors open, as if to hide what he says. However, they all clearly hear him mutter "…Ultimate Protester."

Shizu inhales sharply and averts her eyes. She overhears Michio clear his throat awkwardly. "Well… That's nice?" Seems even his positivity has its limits.

Kogi quickly makes to leave before she remembers to ask him. Still staring at the floor, she shouts, "Gender?"

It was almost a coherent question. "Male," he answers. That was certainly faster than anything else he'd said, but he was most likely trying to get out of the conversation as quickly as possible.

Michio tucks his hands into the pockets of his trench coat and whistles. "That was a thing." He stares after Kogi before exiting the elevator as well, though not before having one last quip. "Don't know what he was trying to do. We're all going to the same place, so we're gonna see him again in, like, thirty seconds."

* * *

 _Kogi Bodo_

 _\- Male_

 _\- Ultimate_ _Protester_

* * *

The elevator hall in the second floor looks identical to the one on the fourth floor. This time, however, neither side is closed off. Without hesitation, Shizu goes towards the left. Michio raises an eyebrow but follows regardless, with Tsubame taking the rear.

"Any particular reason we're going this way?" he asks.

Without bothering to glance at him, she responds, "The rooms on the fourth floor were on the right, so there's a good chance that there are more in that location on this floor. We've been heavily railroaded thus far. That this way is open at all probably means the briefing room is this way."

Michio shoves his hands in the pockets of his trench coat. "Guess that makes sense. You're pretty fond of over thinking things, huh?" He lets out a chuckle and then turns to Tsubame. "You doing alright back there? We can slow down if you'd like."

Her footsteps are a little quiet from Shizu's perspective. "No, it's fine. I'm comfortable, but thank you."

During their conversation, the hallway forks to the right. A quick look down that way reveals a large set of wooden doors with a picture of a fork and knife mounted on the wall. That's most likely a dining room or a kitchen. The three of them silently agree to move onwards instead.

The next fork looks more promising, or, at least, it sounds more promising. Loud voices echo off the metal walls, originating from another set of doors. This time, there appears to be a picture of a podium overhead.

The moment they push their way into the briefing room, Shizu hears a series of slight clicking sounds, like a shutter closing rapidly. Searching around for the source of the noise, she also took in her surroundings. A wooden platform with a podium smack dab in the middle of it is positioned at the far end of the room, standing slightly above everything else. It looks more like a stage than anything else. In front of this, there are several grey folding chairs scattered about randomly. While she doesn't take the time to count them all, it would probably be a safe bet to assume there were sixteen of them.

Of course, the room wasn't empty either. Her eyes dart immediately to the center of the room, where two people sit, a white backpack leaning against one of the chairs by their feet. The first of the pair is a pale-skinned, curvaceous woman. There's something slightly mysterious and alluring about her. Her curly black hair goes down past her shoulders and matches her sparkly halter-top dress well. Speaking of that dress, it's pretty low cut, most likely to show off her generous cleavage. Is it helpful for her talent or does she just enjoy clothing like that? Shizu's never been one for fashion, so she finally looks up towards her face but finds her purple eyes locked on the person next to her. She can't quite read her expression.

A blue-eyed man is sitting in the chair directly right of her, camera in hand. He's wearing a dark blue trench coat and white-collared shirt underneath. He is also wearing a pair of black dress pants, and, for a brief moment, Shizu wonders if he and Michio shopped at the same stores. She dismisses that thought as she takes note of his black ascot cap that did a poor job of hiding his messy, auburn hair that was swept to the left.

Upon noticing Shizu sizing him up, his smile widens, and he gives a little wave with his free hand. The woman next to him turns to face Shizu and the others too, a soft smile gracing her face.

Despite the short time she's known these people, she's come to expect Michio to take charge in social situations and is not surprised to see him step forwards with his hand outstretched. She follows behind, though she catches Tsubame taking a seat in the back. "Hey there. You taking our picture there?" Michio gestures towards the camera.

He tips his hat in response. "Oh yes. I hope you don't mind. I did my best to get your good side. Err… Well, every side of you is good, so it should be fine."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," chuckles Michio. "Michio Kokkaku, Ultimate Coroner at your service. We've also got Shizu right here and…" He looks around for Tsubame before spotting her a good deal away and continuing, "Tsubame over there. Strategist and Kamishibaiya. I'd love to get your names. Especially yours." He throws a wink to the woman at his last statement.

The man holding the camera starts to speak but apparently thinks better of it and looks towards the woman as well. She giggles mysteriously and says, "It appears fate has allowed me to introduce myself first." She stands up, while Shizu bites back a comment about her companion being to the one to let her go first. "I am Morgan Feysonn. I've been blessed with mystic power, and, for this reason, I am known as the Ultimate Fortune Teller."

A fortune teller? That's a lot to unpack from such a simple statement. Shizu chooses to go with, "Interesting."

Morgan's smile never wavers when she addresses Shizu. "I see you are a budding skeptic. I cannot blame you, for thousands upon thousands of other frauds have tainted the name of fortune telling. However, I assure you I am genuine in my claims. Perhaps you too will soon be able to bear witness to what the cards have in store."

"I didn't mean to cast doubt on your talent with my comment," Shizu quickly clarifies.

There's a look in Morgan's eyes that she can't quite place, but the fortune teller moves on. "Let's put that matter aside then. I believe Kaixi is yet to introduce himself."

Kaixi, as he is apparently called, straightens up at the sound of his name. "O-oh yes. My name is Kaixi Cheng. I'm the Ultimate Sports Photographer. It's very nice to meet you."

Kaixi's takes pictures of athletes then… It would explain the camera. "You took our picture right as we walked in. That's some pretty fast reaction time."

He blushes at her comment and kicks his feet. "It's nothing too impressive. My camera does most of the work for me."

"How so?" Michio eyes the device, looking for the trick.

"It's a high grade camera, so it can take shots really quickly. All I have to do is point and get about fourteen shots every second. Then, I can just choose the best shots…" Kaixi moves his hand to pull on something but stops when he realizes it isn't there. He looks at the white backpack on the floor and blushes deeper.

"You'd still need to move your camera in time to catch the shot," Shizu counters.

Morgan chimes in from the side. "And your hand must be guided to find the best angle in the first place."

Not one to be left out, Michio assists too. "You've also gotta choose the best pictures out of the hundreds you've taken. No one wants an unflattering shot after all."

All of the praise and attention seems to have boosted Kaixi's mood. "Thanks everyone. I doubt any photos of you all would be unflattering."

"Perhaps you were helped by another force, subconsciously." As Morgan speaks, she waves her hands around. The silver rings on all of her fingers sparkle, giving an air of mysticism to her words.

Shizu rolls her eyes at her tone. "Could you please explain?"

"It's simple really." A nerve may have been touched. "A young man by the name of Kogi Bodo stormed into this room not long before the rest of you. He seemed agitated. We all attempted to converse with him, but he refused to speak, save his name. It is possible Kaixi felt something at his presence and became more aware of others entering."

Kaixi taps his chin. "I think Kazuha's still trying to talk to him." He points to the left-hand corner of the briefing room, where a short woman with long pink hair had indeed cornered Kogi. She's not exactly quiet either. Shizu internally scolds herself for getting distracted before finishing her survey of the room.

There's something about her that looks familiar to Shizu. Is she one of the girls on the fourth floor? Determined, she clicks her tongue in thought before returning to the comfort of her notepad. It's almost habitual at this point, but she asks regardless, "Would you mind giving me your genders?" Her eyes don't leave Kogi or the pink haired girl.

"I am female," comes Morgan's elegant response.

Kaixi answers without hesitation either, "I'm male." He falters after Shizu nods and begins walking away. "H-hey, where are you going?"

"I still haven't met everyone here yet." Focusing on the people in front of her, replying to Kaixi, and writing her thoughts is a bit much, but she can manage.

"I don't know if crowding Kogi any more is going to do much good," Kaixi mumbles under his breath.

However, Michio claps him on the back. "Probably, yeah, but I don't know if trying to tell Shizu what to do is a good idea either. I've only known her for five minutes, and she's been nothing but business."

Morgan soothes Kaixi's worries as well. "I am sure we will have time to speak with her more at a later time."

* * *

 _Morgan Feysonn_

 _\- Female, unsure of age (maybe younger than me?)_

 _\- Ultimate Fortune Teller (almost certainly fake, but both observant and good at using Barnum effect)_

 _\- Surrounds self and words in mystery, unsure if act or not_

 _\- Confident in "predictions" or own intelligence_

 _Kaixi Cheng_

 _\- Male, barely an adult_

 _\- Ultimate Sports Photographer (quick reaction times and great equipment for perfect shots)_

 _\- Friendly and positive, maybe a little too flattering_

 _\- Either unsure of self or views others as better? Could just be more flattery_

* * *

If she's being honest with herself, she'd rather stay with the others, but she hasn't spoken to Kazuha yet. It's best to meet people as soon as possible, lest her thoughts start slipping or she loses her nerve. It almost flees when she glances at the protester.

Kogi is leaning in the corner with his eyes closed, making him look even shorter than he already is. His hands are still shoved into his pockets. However, he doesn't look stressed out. Come to think of it, he doesn't look annoyed either. It's possible he's meditating.

It would explain why he isn't reacting to the girl "trapping" him there. "Trapping" is not exactly the right word, since she's standing up straight and isn't pinning him there, but it feels appropriate. While they look about the same height, he's currently slouching, so she is most likely slightly shorter. Her pink hair is straight and goes down most of her back, and it's topped off by a blue baseball cap. From this angle, the only clothing Shizu can make out is her blue and black checkered, sleeveless dress shirt and her black shorts. To get their attention, she clears her throat.

Kogi doesn't even open his eyes, let alone visibly react. In stark contrast, Kazuha spins around, looks up at Shizu, and smiles. "Hey there! Sorry about not noticing you sooner. I got a little busy over here." She's bouncing on her toes as she speaks. "I'm Kazuha Kimura, Ultimate Zoologist. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Well, she's certainly energetic. Shizu coughs again before answering, "Likewise. Shizu Saneyoshi. Might I ask for your gender?"

Kazuha gives a thumbs up. "Sure thing Shizu! I'm female. I'm guessing you're the same?"

"You would be correct." Shizu writes that information down in her notepad, then starts spinning away. "It was nice meeting you."

"Huh? Whoa, wait up!" Kazuha isn't done with her yet. She briefly considers that changing her position would let Kogi escape but decides it's worth it. She steps in front of Shizu with a concerned expression painted on her face. "That's it? You haven't even told me your talent yet. First Kogi, now you… I'm starting to think I'm not really friend material."

"No, that's… that isn't the problem." Great going, Shizu. She tightens her grip on her pen. "If you must know, I am the Ultimate Strategist. It merely slipped my mind. I'm also slightly worried about what's going on, so my mind's not all here right now." With each lie, that grip gets fiercer. It's a wonder her pen hasn't snapped yet.

Kazuha's stopped biting her cheek at least. "Oh, that's no problem! This whole situation is super messed up, and we've all got our own ways of coping. I'm hoping that we'll all pull through together, though. We've all been put in the same circumstances, right?"

"That's definitely one way to look at it," Shizu agrees.

This causes Kazuha to start bouncing again. "I know not everyone wants to be around people right now, but I think a good first impression will do a lot of good in the long run. That's why I'm trying to get Kogi to open up." She looks around to see if anyone is listening before leaning in and whispering, "I'm sure he's nice, but I think everyone else is getting nervous because of his presence. He's got this cool, mysterious vibe to him, and that's not doing him a lot of good favors in a place like this, y'know?" She leans back, her grin already back in full force.

Choosing to focus all of her attention on the zoologist, Shizu says, "You'll be fighting an uphill battle on that one, I'm afraid. That announcement video that we all got did a fairly good job at unnerving all of us. We may all be victims, but we haven't been given an incentive to unite yet."

"That's why I'm trying to be that incentive. I just have to get to know everyone well enough to help them out. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes. Some people just happen to have tougher ones to figure out." Truly, there is no crushing her spirit. "Then again, maybe Kaixi and Morgan were so friendly that I got my hopes up a little too much." Even as she speaks, her tone has a hint of humor in it.

"That is a possibility. We must consider the fact that there are only seven of us in the room right now. There is a chance that those among us who are more introverted have not even left their rooms yet. We could have a skewed data set. That being said, I found that Michio and Tsubame are also easy to talk with. Kogi may be an outlier." Her analysis comes naturally as she jots down her impressions of Kazuha.

"Wait, there are more people here? How'd I miss them come in?" Kazuha backtracks further, "Wait, how did I miss you come in?"

"I failed to notice you as well, so let's chalk it up to conversation." She points out her previous companions. "Michio is the man speaking with the others, and Tsubame's the one sitting back there." Michio was indeed continuing to be right in the middle of the conversation. On the other hand, Tsubame is watching them intensely. While she is clearly enjoying listening in, there isn't anything in her posture or expression to indicate that she wants to join in.

"They look like they're having fun, so that's great! Once I've gotten a little something from Kogi, I'll go meet them." Her cheer is nearly infectious.

Shizu has a few concerns about this. "What makes you so certain he's going to talk?"

"I promised to let him be if he asked, but he hasn't said anything at all. That could be a good sign." Her positivity is clear in her tone, though it wavers when she continues, "I don't want to pester him too much. At the same time, I'd like to get to know him a tiny bit… I haven't even gotten his talent."

"…He's the Ultimate Protester." Despite the pause, the words are out of her mouth before she can stop them.

Kazuha's blue eyes widen. "H-huh?"

Kogi slowly opens his eyes.

The briefing room door opens, and the telltale clicks of Kaixi's camera fill the room.

* * *

 _Kazuha Kimura_

 _\- Female, probably on the younger side_

 _\- Ultimate Zoologist (incredible knowledge of animals, no particular area of studies? Possible jack of all trades, so to speak)_

 _\- Impossibly upbeat, radiant beacon of positivity_

 _\- Hard not to feel cheerful around her, but could be an elaborate ruse to make others comfortable_

* * *

At first, Shizu looks over the head of the man who had entered. It's only when she glances down that she catches his short, wavy, aqua hair that she can focus on him. He's very tan, nearly orange as a matter of fact. His eyes are a striking turquoise color, he's got a pearl necklace, and, for some bizarre reason, he's got pink floaties around his arm. Still, what really catches her attention are all of his tattoos. She can't see through his mustard-yellow shirt or aqua cargo pants, but it seems like his entire body is covered in them. If she had to guess, they appear to be over the circulatory system, since they look very similar to veins. Even his feet, which she can see because of his sandals, have them.

He makes for the back of the room opposite where Tsubame is sitting. If he was hoping for some peace and quiet, he chose unfortunately. He barely has a chance to sit down before Kazuha is standing next to him. …At least Kogi has some breathing room.

"Hi there, I'm Kazuha Kimura, the Ultimate Zoologist. It's nice to meet you!" She extends her hand in friendship.

Though his mouth is initially a pout, his eyes light up when he hears her title. One internal deliberation later, and he meets her in a handshake. "I'm Chouki Awadachi. I mostly specialize in the conservation of marine life, but that's enough to warrant being the Ultimate Marine Biologist."

Kazuha squees. "No way! I love marine animals! They're all so good! I'd ask you to pick a favorite, but that'd be rude. It'd be like picking out a favorite child!"

"I don't think anyone would be able to take out a single species and say that it's the best. That isn't how nature works." Chouki's tone is soft yet to the point. Shizu thinks there's some excitement in there, but it's difficult to tell.

"Since you're specializing in ocean animals, you probably know way more about them than I do," Kazuha cheers. "Do you have any super interesting animal facts on you right now?"

There's some hesitation on Chouki's part. "What are you planning on doing with whatever I tell you?"

"Huh? I guess I'm going to use it to learn more about the world? Is there something else I'm missing?" She scratches the back of her neck as she asks.

He narrows his eyes. "Most of the damage that I've seen comes from people interfering. If I tell you something, you could use it to mess with the life that's already there."

"No no no! I would never!" Kazuha shouts in a panic. "I love all animals! I swear on my life that I'd never even think about hurting them!"

"That's nice, but I can't trust good intentions. What if you make a mistake? What if you have the wrong idea entirely?" Chouki counters.

She swallows nervously and bites the inside of her cheek. "I… I guess that's fair. I just thought… I am an Ultimate, after all… Do you really think that I'd get scouted if I would make a big mistake involving animals?"

"It's only a title. I need to see some proof before I put any marine life in danger." With that, he appears finished with the conversation. Kazuha sighs sadly.

Shizu finally decides to speak up. "You aren't a very trusting person."

Rolling his eyes, Chouki responds, "You're supposed to earn trust first, whoever you are."

"It was only an observation, not a judgment," she says evenly. "I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Shizu Saneyoshi."

He nods, and that appears to be the end of that. Kazuha looks back at him with something like determination burning in her eyes. "I'll make sure to win your trust. You'll see that I treat every animal with love and respect, and you'll have no choice but to be my friend." She says the last bit with mock accusation.

"OK then."

"You really weren't kidding when you said you'd try to unite us…" Shizu posits.

Beaming, Kazuha nods. "Nope! Even if some people take a while to warm up, it'll definitely be possible! I'm up for the challenge!"

To their surprise, they hear Chouki scoff. When they look at him questioningly, he says, "If you want a challenge, then try talking to the person wearing a bag on their head."

…What.

Seeing their befuddled stares, he reluctantly continues. "I saw them peeking out of the stairwell when I was walking over here. They noticed me and ducked back into hiding, so I didn't get a good look. But they definitely were wearing a brown paper bag over their head."

"That's…" She tries to find the correct word but settles on, "Odd. I think I'll investigate."

"Have fun with that." She can tell by his tone that he's rolling his eyes again.

"I'd go with you, but I still have to meet everyone else in here. Good luck, though!" Kazuha waves goodbye, eyeing Michio. That reminds her…

Her notepad is back in her hands in a flash. "I almost forgot. May I ask your gender?" she asks Chouki.

"Male," he answers dully.

She nods in thanks and steps towards the door. Before she can exit, however, she hears someone call out to her.

It's Tsubame, who she had thought was paying rapt attention to whatever Morgan was going on about. "Um… I hope I'm not being rude, but are you going somewhere? Shouldn't we wait for the others to come for us? We might miss each other if we're going back and forth."

"It's a special circumstance," Shizu explains. "From what I've gathered, someone's being shy and refusing to leave their hiding spot. We could be here a while if no one picks them up."

"In that case, I wish you luck." Tsubame swivels her head back to the conversation she was eavesdropping on, now with a bonus Kazuha in the mix.

There were already a slew of strong personalities for Shizu to keep track of. Whoever this mystery bag person is, it's likely that this trend won't die down any time soon. She pinches her forehead with the hand holding her pen, hopes that it doesn't leave a mark, and walks out of the briefing room.

* * *

 _Chouki Awadachi_

 _\- Male, unsure of age_

 _\- Ultimate Marine Biologist (knows all about marine life, but claims to focus on keeping it safe from humanity)_

 _\- Quiet, soft-spoken, hides a sarcastic(?)/dismissive side (may be way he speaks, not intentional)_

 _\- Not a people person, distrusting of others perhaps due to things he's seen while studying marine life_

 _\- Most likely cares more for animals than he does for people_

* * *

 _Shizu's Notes_

 _Character Profiles/Impressions_

 _\- See previous entries, I am not writing that all again_

 _\- More important to get to know people before assaulting them with questions about capture, wait for them to bring it up for now_

 _Physical Location_

 _\- Multi-story building, unable to tell how many floors it has_

 _\- Living quarters separated by floor, with probably about five/six per floor_

 _\- 4_ _th_ _floor: Shizu, Tsubame, Michio, Kazuha, ?_

 _\- 3_ _rd_ _floor: Kogi, ?_

 _\- 2_ _nd_ _floor: Chouki(?) (if he noticed someone in the stairwell, he probably was walking past it, implying he was coming from the room hallway), ?_

 _\- Seems to be a loop structure on each floor, with the elevator at the center of the building_

 _\- Didn't see any windows but could have missed them while talking_

 _\- Unable to access 1_ _st_ _floor. Likely that the exit is there, and captor doesn't want us escaping_

 _\- Several areas on other floors also unavailable. Either lead to escape, not part of the game area, or are unfinished_

 _Capture Circumstances_

 _\- Did not question most people_

 _\- Seem unwilling to talk about the actual situation, so very little information available_

 _\- Probably don't want to accept what's happening, denial still strong?_

 _\- Michio apparently physically assaulted_

 _\- Tsubame taken quietly while sleeping_

 _\- Disparity in methods, may hint to desperation to get Ultimates as quickly as possible_

* * *

A/N: That's a wrap for the first half of the introductions. I actually had this done a while back, but I wanted to get feedback with some busy people IRL. Whatever the case, I'm sorry this took so long to get out. On the plus side, I've started working on the second half already, so, with any luck, that will come sooner. Either that, or I'll get distracted by school before I can finish, and you'll all have to wait even longer. :V

Whatever the case, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you have any concerns about how your character is portrayed, please don't be shy about contacting me. I hope you all have a fantastic day.


	5. Prologue: Game Start 04

Beta Read by Lupus Overkill

* * *

It probably hasn't even been thirty minutes since Shizu left her room, but it feels like an eternity to her. With all of the strong personalities around her, she hasn't had any time to herself. In that regard, there's something refreshing about walking alone in these hallways, despite the distressing circumstances.

She knows that this calm will end soon, as she needs to find the bag-wearing person as soon as she can. From Chouki's comments, there's a good chance that they may have already fled. That being said, she isn't rushing herself.

Her footsteps create a rhythmic echo off of the tile flooring and metal walls. Now that she thinks about it, it is odd how empty this building feels. There's nothing lining the hallway walls. No windows, no paintings, nothing. She hasn't seen any furniture out here either, not even the occasional fake potted plant. Everything looks clean enough, so it's well cared for. However, the lack of substance makes her mind race. What could it mean?

Shizu's train of thought gets interrupted as she passes by what she assumes is the dining room. There's quite a racket coming from the doors. Weren't they closed before? They're currently ajar, letting her peek inside. She can't see anyone from this angle, but she is certain someone is inside. While it could be the person she's looking for, she would rather investigate the stairwell first. Also, there is a small part of her that does not want to deal with the potential chaos in that room. Thus, she moves past it.

Eventually, she arrives back in the room with the stairwell and elevator. She takes a deep breath before converging towards the stairs. Looking past the empty door frame, she furrows her brow when she sees that the stairs go up and down. Would it be possible to reach the first floor by using them?

She can't see anyone hiding here, so she decides to investigate downwards. The possibility of exploring more of the building is enticing. Her hopes get dashed slightly when she quickly comes to a blockade after a few seconds of descending. It looks like a wall used at a construction site, and it's been stamped with an image of a bear, half-white and half-black. Its twisted red eye makes her shudder.

Her journey is not for nothing, as there is someone else here, facing the wall. One glance at the bag on his head tells her that this is her target. She can make out a purple braid falling out of the bag, though the rest of his head is a mystery. The rest of his body is covered up as well. He's wearing both a brown sweater and, over his shoulders, he's got a big coat that's colored white and purple. He also has a pair of checkered capri pants that stop at his knees and a purple pair of sandals.

She can hear him muttering to himself under the chattering of his teeth, too distracted to hear her approaching footsteps. Once she clears her throat, he gasps and spins around on the spot. From this angle, she can see that his bag has cutouts for his blue eyes and mouth. "Who the hell are you?!" he demands.

"Shizu Saneyoshi," she replies calmly, holding her hands up to show that she isn't hiding anything. "I believe we're both in the same situation."

She can barely make it out, but she thinks he's narrowed his eyes. "Right. Okay. Why exactly should I believe you? And which Ultimate are you supposed to be?"

"I'm the Ultimate Strategist." She sense a possible counter accusation, so she continues, "If I wanted to attack or subdue you, I would have done so when you had your back turned. I'm not your enemy. Now, would you please introduce yourself?"

He still has his doubts, however. "Why didn't you lead with your Ultimate talent? If you're really a strategist, then you should have released that saying it right away gives you more credibility. For all I know, you just needed some time to think up a fake talent!" He clenches his fists. "I'm not about to give away personal information to a suspicious person like you."

Exasperated, Shizu pinches her forehead and growls, "Look, if I was behind your kidnapping, then I'd already know who you are. Either I'm faking my confusion or I legitimately don't know. So just tell me already so we can stop wasting time."

He pauses, possibly to think of a counter point, until he finally relents. "…I guess that makes sense. I'm Takumi Haruko, and, if you really need to know, I'm the Ultimate Cover Artist. Satisfied?"

"Almost. May I also know your gender?" Shizu is tempted to pull out her notepad but thinks better of it. Takumi would definitely react negatively.

The question alone proves to be suspicious to him, as he's back on the defensive. "How much more do you want anyways?"

Her patience is quickly wearing thin. "Do you want me to accidentally misgender you or not?"

"I'm male. Now, would you leave me alone already?" Takumi's hands are clenched once more.

At this rate, she may need to physically drag him back to the briefing room. Well, she wouldn't be able to because she lacks physical strength, so she hopes it doesn't come to that. "I actually came to fetch you." Before he can start panicking again, she keeps talking. "If you were not aware, we're all supposed to meet up in one of the rooms for some kind of announcement. Most of the others are already waiting. Continuing to linger here only delays the inevitable."

"You're all just playing along? Maybe you came to wherever this is willingly, but I got kidnapped. This whole thing screams "suspicious". There's no way I'm going anywhere." Takumi takes a step backwards. Though he stumbles slightly when going down the stairs, his back now pressed up against the strange wall. "Either you're dumb enough to walk right into a trap or you're in on it."

"If they wanted to do something to us, they've have done it when we were on unconscious. There's no point in fighting this particular issue aside from pure stubbornness," Shizu argues.

It's not her best point, and she definitely should have worded it better. Still, she's grateful to see Takumi slowly easing the tension in his body. He takes a few deep breaths and then looks at the ground. "…Okay. Let's get this over with."

Shizu leads the way, albeit slowly in case he decides to run off again. She also takes the time to jot down a few more notes.

* * *

 _Takumi Haruko_

 _\- Male, seems young but could be mistaken_

 _\- Ultimate Cover Artist (makes covers of popular songs, possibly without revealing face judging by the bag)_

 _\- Very paranoid, converging on rudeness, frustrating to talk to_

 _\- Possibly has social anxiety, which would explain why he hides his face_

* * *

She's in no rush to keep the conversation going with him, so they climb the steps in silence, back to the second floor. She hears a low rumbling noise coming from above them. Is someone using the elevator?

Her question is answered, as, the instant she and Takumi reach the top to the stairwell, they see the elevator doors open. She feels Takumi tense up and instinctively grabs his arm to keep him from scampering away.

A very tall woman steps into the hall. Her strawberry-blonde ponytail sways as she moves forwards. Her sharp, brown eyes are scanning the area. She's wearing a short-sleeved, navy blue shirt that's been tucked into a black pair of dress pants. She also has what appears to be a black pouch around her waist. Shizu can tell that, whoever this person is, she's in top physical shape. She looks vaguely familiar to Shizu… She may be the person in the room next to hers.

It's possible that this woman has the same feeling of déjà-vu, since her eyes light up when she notices Shizu. Technically, she also sees Takumi standing completely still as well, but her eyes are locked onto Shizu's. She walks towards them, and Shizu, dragging Takumi along, meets her halfway.

"Hello there Miss," she greets. "I believe that we're both staying on the same floor."

"The fourth floor, correct?" Shizu replies. "I think that we are neighbors, actually. My name is Shizu Saneyoshi."

The woman nods. "It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Sawako Kido, the Ultimate Riot Police Officer."

Shizu's heart skips a beat.

She doesn't think that her panic is noticeable, but Sawako says, "I'm not going to arrest you, if that's what you're thinking. Unless you plan on giving me a reason to…" She trails off at the end of her sentence. Shizu's not certain whether that was a threat or a poor attempt at humor.

Takumi starts struggling to escape Shizu's grip, evidently wanting nothing to do with this situation. Sawako sees him, and says, "I apologize for not addressing you earlier. May I have your name?"

Upon being spoken to directly, his struggling doubles, but Shizu refuses to let go. Perhaps her own panic has turned her hand into a vice. Still, she pushes past her fears and speaks up for him, "…He's Takumi Haruko. He's the Ultimate Cover Artist. Sorry about him."

He glares at her from under his bag-mask. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you telling me that you're actually going to trust this cop?!"

Sawako holds her hands up in surrender. "I promise that I will not harm you unless you have actually committed a crime."

That's… not exactly comforting given Shizu's recent past, but it appears Sawako is none the wiser. Instead, she finally steels her nerves and forces herself to take control of her body back. Easier said than done, but she somehow manages. "Then we should be good. I'm spotless, and the only thing Takumi has done wrong is refuse to go to the meeting location. So, if you would stop tugging…" She grits her teeth and pulls.

"Hey, watch it." He stumbles while trying to get his bearings. "I already said I was going. I just don't like being near her is all."

There is a brief flash of something in Sawako's eyes, but it's gone before Shizu can register what emotion it is. "I am sorry for making you uncomfortable. I must also go to this meeting, however. If it is not too much trouble, may I accompany you there? You speak as though you know the way," she asks Shizu.

"Of course. It's no bother," she lies. "…If it isn't too much of an issue, could you please tell me your gender?" She relinquishes her grip on Takumi to pull her notepad out for the umpteenth time. He rubs his wrist but, true to his word, follows behind them as they make for the briefing room.

"I am female," Sawako answers. "You are female as well, correct? And you are male, Takumi?" Both of them nod in affirmation. She then says, "Now, this may be my fault, but I don't believe you've told me your talent, Shizu. If you did and it slipped my mind, then I am truly sorry."

It helps that Shizu is writing away, as she answers on autopilot, "Ultimate Strategist."

* * *

 _Sawako Kido_

 _\- Female_

 _\- Ultimate Riot Police Officer_

* * *

…Not that she has much that much to write anyways. She pretends to write more in order to keep the silence going, but Sawako apparently didn't get the memo. "Might I ask what the two of you were doing coming up the stairs? I didn't think the first floor was open."

She pockets her supplies back into her blazer pocket with a sigh. "It isn't. The stairs down there were blocked. Takumi was trying to hide himself, so I came to bring him back."

"I'm not some kind of lost child," he complains from behind them.

"If you didn't want to be found, why not go back into your room?" Sawako wonders.

"You don't think I tried that?" he grumbles. "The door locked behind me while I was scoping everything out."

Shizu supplies, "I don't think we have the card keys necessary for unlocking our rooms. They'll most likely be distributed after the meeting has started."

Sawako opens her mouth to speak, but, at that moment, they pass by the dining hall once more. The noises are still ongoing. Apparently, someone else also had no plans on showing up at the briefing room.

Shizu turns to Sawako but refuses to look at her eyes directly. "Could you please escort Takumi to the briefing room? I want to check this out."

Sawako argues, "It could be dangerous. I should go instead. Besides, you are more familiar with this building's layout than I am. It makes more sense for you to go."

"That may be true, but you will have to find your way there if I leave you here. Takumi will also have a harder time getting away if you keep an eye on him," Shizu counters, already walking away at a brisk pace. "Just look out for a room with a podium displayed overhead. You can't miss it."

"You're leaving us just like that?" comes Takumi's angry cries. Sawako, however, is silent, though it doesn't sound like she's going to follow her.

The dining hall itself is devoid of life. It's pretty large, all things considered. There's a single large wooden table in the center of the room. Around it are several ornate wooden chairs, though she doesn't know the exact number. Normally, she would guess sixteen, but there are four smaller, plastic tables in each of the corners which have two folding chairs a piece. Either they have options on where to sit, or some people will be forced away from the larger group.

She can make out some clattering and voices now that she's closer. The racket is coming from a room at the back of the dining room, past another set of double doors. Hopefully, this person will give her less trouble than the previous two, though she isn't getting her hopes up. Before she can second guess herself, she walks inside.

It turns out to be a fairly large kitchen. In the center, there's an empty marble counter. The back wall is lined with all sorts of cooking devices. She can see a microwave oven combo in the corner, a back countertop with a stove, sink, toaster, and dishwasher, a fridge, and several cabinets on top. It's pretty well stocked, which is a bit worrying now that she thinks about it. They may need to make their own food… Putting that thought aside, she finally sees two doors on opposite ends. To her left, the door is wooden, but the right door is metal with a small window on the front.

Of course, she probably should have mentioned the source of the noise first, rather than the scenery. Apparently, it's coming from a pair of people. One of them is loudly munching down on a handful of graham crackers. The other is standing on a stool and appears to be shaking the toaster violently, while whining, "Come on! Do something!"

The girl eating is the only one to notice Shizu's entrance. She looks at her wide eyed and finishes scarfing down her cracker. She looks like she wants to say something but then gasps a little and shoves another graham cracker down her throat.

Seeing as she doesn't seem ready to talk, Shizu analyzes her. She's a pretty chubby person, with her body only really slimming down around her legs. Still, she looks cute, what with her puffy face and squinty salmon eyes. Her strawberry-blonde pigtails tied up with smiling bee hair ties also help complete the look. Her shirt is white, short-sleeved, and decorated with yellow flowers, but it looks a tad small on her. It doesn't fully reach her black and yellow striped skirt. Even her footwear has a bee theme to it, as her socks and shoes are both covered in bee stripes.

During this time, she has run out of graham crackers and almost bites her finger when going for another one. She takes a deep breath before calling out to her companion, "Hey, Soraru? There's someone else here."

Soraru is too busy shaking that toaster to acknowledge anything around xem. Once more, Shizu takes stock of what's in front of her. The most striking thing about xem is xer short height. Xe are almost a foot shorter than Shizu is. Xer skin tone is almond, which goes well with xer curly black hair that goes down to xer shoulders. As xe are turned around, she can only make out what looks to be a white apron over xer pastel purple shirt and blue jeans. At the very least, xer pastel purple bandanna wrapped around xer hair, long rubber gloves, and tall brown boots are all visible.

Not content with being ignored, the bee girl stomps her foot childishly and yells, "Soraru! Quit being a meanie and talk to our new friend!"

This is loud enough for Soraru to hear. Xe throws the toaster back onto the countertop and then turn around. Xe blinks xer golden eyes curiously before asking, "A new friend? Are they hungry too? Well too bad, because nothing in this dumb kitchen works!"

Shizu shakes her head. "My name is Shizu Saneyoshi, and I'm here for you two, actually. You were making a lot of noise, so I came to investigate. Could you two please introduce yourselves?"

"Huh? Investigate?" Xe scratches xer head. "Are you some kind of super detective?"

"…Ultimate Strategist, actually," Shizu concedes. "Now, your names, if you wouldn't mind."

Xe tilts xer head before saying, "But what if I do mind? What should I tell you then?"

She blinks for a few seconds. "Let me rephrase that: Please tell me your names."

"Geez, you're really fickle aren'tcha? Make up your mind already." Xe says these words with a big grin on xer face.

Shizu has no idea what her face looks like, but it must be intense, because the other girl interrupts. "It's really really nice to meet you Shizu! I'm Hachi Hachimitsu. I'm the Ultimate Beekeeper. Can you tell?" She's all smiles even as she stands a little shyly, her foot tapping nervously.

"It's very nice to meet you, Hachi," Shizu says. "Your outfit is lovely." She normally wouldn't be so forthcoming with compliments, but, right now, Hachi's seemingly innocent cheer is just what she needs.

Hachi beams all the brighter. "Yay! Thank you! It's my favorite! A lot of this stuff was hard to find, but bees this cute are totally worth it." She glances at her feet again as she said this, and Shizu realizes that her shoes actually have smiling bee faces on them. Perhaps they were custom made.

"Ooh! Ooh! Do you have a big ol' fuzzy jacket too?" Soraru chimes in. "Then you could be a real cuddle bug!"

Shizu inwardly steels herself and then asks, "Hachi said your name was Soraru, correct?"

"Hey, you noticed!" Xe stands on xer tiptoes, still on the stool, and proclaims. "I'm Soraru Kishinuma! Now, you have to notice my talent as well!" Before she can even reply, xe shouts, "Bzzz! Time's up. I'm actually the Ultimate Baker!" Xe reaches into the left pocket of xer apron and throw out a handful of flour as though it were confetti.

There's a great many things that Shizu could say, but she settles on, "…Do you always carry about flour, or is this a special occasion?"

Xe snorts. "Nah, I snagged some from the pantry." Xe gestures to the wooden door to Shizu's left. "It's one of the only good things about this kitchen."

"This place is super well stocked," Hachi agrees. "There's rows and rows and rows of food, and it all looks brand new!"

"I see." Shizu clicks her tongue in thought. "Before I forget, could you please both tell me your genders?"

Upon hearing these words, Soraru's smile seems to become the most genuine that xe's given yet. "Wow, most people don't even bother asking. Super thorough of you. I'm agender, and, before you ask, I use xe/xem pronouns."

"I'm just female," Hachi responds.

"Now you gotta tell us yours!" Soraru demands eagerly.

Shizu is already jotting down their information when she answers, "Female. Moving on, I would like to ask you something. Both of you mentioned that you went into the pantry. Is that why you came in here? Were you hungry?"

Hachi tugs on her pigtails nervously. "Kinda? This whole thing's got me really nervous, and, y'know, maybe I thought that a little snack might cheer me up."

"Right! Hachi came to stress eat, and I came to stress bake!" Soraru says gleefully.

"H-huh? That's not it at all!" Hachi shouts.

At the same time, Shizu says, "Stress baking? I'm sorry, what?"

Soraru chooses to address Shizu. "Yeah, you've never heard of it? Baking can be soothing to the soul. Ultimate baking can be ultimate soothing too!" Xe then turns to scoff. "Or at least it should be. Nothing in this dumb kitchen even works. If the lights weren't on, I'd say that someone cut the power just to spite me. How rude!"

Cutting the power, huh? That reminds Shizu of something. "… You may not be off the mark with that guess. I don't think that the doorbells to our rooms were working either. I tested them out while the door was still open, and I confirmed that they didn't make a sound."

Hachi sounds taken aback by this. "Really? Why would someone do that? Do they want us all on our own?"

"No way, I was right! They don't want me baking anything and will that by any means necessary!" Soraru points dramatically at this declaration.

That is probably truer than Soraru thinks. Baking is a time consuming process, and their kidnappers may have anticipated that xe would neglect going to the meeting in favor of messing around in the kitchen. Still, there's more tactful ways to put it. "I'm not sure if either of you are aware, but there was an announcement earlier. We're all supposed to go to the briefing room. They may have cut power in key areas to ensure that there were minimal distractions."

"Then, we have to show up for the meeting before we get to do other things, huh?" Hachi looks towards the pantry nervously.

"What're we wasting our time here for? C'mon slowpokes, let's blow this popsicle stand!" Before either of them knows what's happening, Soraru has bounced off of the stool and is already at the door.

Narrowing her eyes, Shizu says, "Hold on. You were the one who decided xe needed to "stress bake". Don't pin this on us."

"Pssssh," xe scoffs. "That's old news. Keep up with the times, Shizu! Otherwise, you'll make Big Brother mad, and nobody wants that!"

"Wait, what?" "Huh?" Both Shizu and Hachi can fully register what was just said, Soraru has charged out of the room.

"B-big Brother? You don't think-" begins Hachi.

"No, I don't think, and I don't want to think, honestly," Shizu interrupts. They share one last look before exiting the kitchen.

* * *

 _Hachi Hachimitsu_

 _\- Female, definitely the youngest person I've met so far_

 _\- Ultimate Beekeeper (completely comfortable around bees, possibly raising them for breeding, honey, or conservation reasons)_

 _\- Sweet and childish, as evidenced by attire_

 _\- Has nervous habits, some possibly unhealthy, and may get defensive about them when confronted_

 _\- Hard to imagine her lying but can never be too careful_

 _Soraru Kishinuma_

 _\- Agender (xe/xem), unable to determine age_

 _\- Ultimate Baker (note: baking is different from cooking, uses dry heat to make food, usually bread)_

 _\- Annoying gremlin child_

 _\- Either says whatever xe wants in hopes of provoking a reaction, or has a disorder that prevents xem from correctly interpreting social situations_

 _\- For future Shizu: Initial impressions are important. No matter how xe may make you feel later, remember not to underestimate xem_

* * *

It's only been a few seconds since the two of them entered the dining hall, but there appears to be a commotion already. There's a loud crashing noise coming from the hallway. In Soraru's haste, xe may have collided with something or someone.

Rushing out into the hall, they find Soraru hunched over on the floor. Not too far away from xer is a slightly tanned young man sprawled out on his back. It's a wonder that he got knocked down that far, considering that he looks pretty lean and athletic. His seaweed colored hair is spread out on the floor with the fringe completely covering his left eye. His outfit looks a little messed up too, though whether it's from the collision or from wear is anyone's guess. He's got a pale-green chiffon-like blouse with a navy blue cravat on which looks slightly ruffled. Even more torn up is his light-brown waistcoat, clasped over his shirt by a mermaid broach. The floor around him is littered with contents from his khaki bag and his sandals.

"Oww…" Soraru moans. "Watch where I'm going next time. How am I supposed to run freely in the halls if people are just standing around?"

He blinks his turquoise eyes and Shizu notices teardrop shaped face paint on his cheeks. Then, he slowly says, "I… apologize… for my lack of observation… I truly hope that you… are unharmed."

Xe also blinks upon hearing this. "Huh. I didn't actually expect an apology. You're either way too forgiving or too much of a pushover." Perhaps taking pity on him, xe helps pull him off of the tile flooring.

"Do you need help picking up your things?" Shizu bends over and glances at the mess. There's loads of sketches, test tubes, and… is that a plush turtle? Who is this person?

He nods graciously while putting his sandals back on his feet. "I would… greatly appreciate that."

Hachi also joins in, though she handles each of the items as though it would shatter in her grasp. "You're okay, right? No bruises or anything?"

"Everything is… alright." He then gains a look of mild revelation in his eyes. "Where are… my manners? I should have… introduced myself earlier."

The three of them wait for him to actually do that, but he seems lost in thought. After a few seconds, Soraru says, "Yes. You should have."

A few more seconds pass until he finally sounds ready. "I am known as… Palaemon Katsaros. My talent… is as the Ultimate Oceanographer… and as a loyal member of… the blessed Siren people."

…What.

"Blessed siren pe-" Hachi starts to question, but her comment gets pushed aside by Soraru.

"Nice, nice. Oceanographer and a Siren. Big Brother would be very impressed." Before anyone can linger on what xe just said, xe presses on. "But you did take a little while with your intro, so I'm gonna rapid fire through the rest of us."

Xe points to xemself. "Soraru, baker extraordinaire." Next up is Hachi. "Hachi, fuzzy bee."

"Bee _keeper_ ," Hachi corrects nervously.

Finally, Shizu is up. "Shizu, super detective."

"…Strategist, if you don't mind," she mentions, mostly for Palaemon's sake.

Despite the glaringly obvious mistakes in xer statements, Palaemon is content. "I am… very fortunate to… meet each of you… even in… such-"

"Pardon me, but could you please tell us your gender?" She feels slightly bad about cutting him off once more, but he is taking a while, and she does need to know.

"No… that is… no trouble. I… am male," he responds calmly.

Now that the distraction appears to be out of the way, Hachi decides to ask her question again. "Also sorry about this mister, but what was the thing you said about being a siren thingy?"

"The Sirens are… creatures of the sea," he explains. "They wait upon… rocky shores… and sing their songs to… attract sailors. Their ships get caught in the rocks… and they sink to their doom. However… these incidents… are only in the past… and now… sirens… are able to live in harmony… with humanity." His eyes have taken on a strange, almost dream-like gaze throughout his speech. "I… am one of them."

Pinching her forehead, Shizu struggles to make anything out of that. Hachi's eyes have gone wide. Even Soraru looks taken aback by that, xer smile looking more awkward by the second.

At last, xe breaks the silence. "Well… Your voice is singsongy, so I'll allow it." Then, xe continues with more confidence. "Yeah, I might have to squint a little, but you look siren-ish from the right angle."

Coming off of xer enthusiasm, Hachi says, "You're a nice guy, so I got worried at first… But if you say sirens are good, then I'm totally happy to meet you!"

He clasps his hands together tightly and smiles serenely. "Truly… I am blessed… by the gods… to have met you all."

This… this is actually happening.

"Ooh, can I give you a nickname?" Hachi asks. "I love your name, but I'm having a little trouble remembering it… Is Pal okay? Because you're our pal."

"My siren song… has brought… such wonderful new friends to me. I would be… delighted to receive… your nickname." Something so dramatic has no right to sound so sincere, but Pal has somehow completely sold it.

"Well, c'mon Pal. We've got a meeting to get to! No more standing around! Full steam ahead!" Once more, Soraru has taken off. Luckily, xe'd gone in the correct direction, so Shizu didn't miss her opportunity to intervene.

"W-wait up Soraru! Don't leave us behind!" Hachi also runs off, albeit at a much slower pace.

Shizu just stands there. Her notepad had somehow found its way into her hands, but she has no recollection of taking it out. She should definitely write down her thoughts, but they simply refuse to surface.

She blinks and finds Pal staring at her curiously. "Shizu… have you… noticed something wrong?"

Yes.

"No. I just need to take some notes is all." She fiddles with her pen as she finally manages to force her legs to function.

Pal accepts her answer whilst following her. "Then… I shall do my best… to keep silent… and not… distract you."

"…Thank you very much." Thus, they stroll towards the briefing room in relative silence.

* * *

 _Palaemon Katsaros_

 _\- Male, unsure of age_

 _\- Nicknamed "Pal" by Hachi_

 _\- Ultimate Oceanographer (study of the ocean, such as physical and biological aspects, and sketches in bag may relate to specific areas of study)_

 _\- Calm, deliberate, takes time to think about words carefully_

 _\- Very polite and patient, could either be a peacemaker or a pushover_

 _\- Believes himself to be a siren_

 _\- Actually believes himself to be a siren_

 _\- Judging from tone, this is 100% genuine, but could be elaborate ruse to obfuscate his true nature_

 _\- If genuine delusion, needs immediate psychological help_

* * *

They don't hear any more collisions on their way to the meeting, so at least Soraru has kept xemself out of further trouble. They do not run into any of Ultimates either, however. It seems likely that the rest have arrived by this time.

When the approach the doors to the briefing room, the noise is much louder than last time. Pushing them open, they find that it's very packed. While not everyone is in a chair, it would be a safe assumption that only one or two people are missing at most.

A main group has seemingly formed around the center area, where Michio is telling a story. Kazuha, Kaixi, and Hachi are all hanging onto his every word, while Morgan looks on with a mysterious smile gracing her face and Sawako laughs politely. Kogi is still leaning in the right corner, though he's now being pestered by Soraru. From xer tone, xe're getting frustrated by his complete lack of a reaction. Chouki is in the same seat as when she left him, glaring up at the empty podium. Looking at the other side of the room, Tsubame is in her seat, still watching the others silently. To her surprise, Takumi is standing close to her. He looks antsy, but Tsubame's calmness must be comforting him enough to make him stay put.

There's only one person that Shizu doesn't recognize. Sitting in a seat near the front of the room is a short woman wearing an aqua headscarf wrapped around her head as a hijab. She's angled towards the podium, so Shizu can make out a few details of her front. While she cannot tell her hair color or style, since her headscarf covers it, she can make out her grey eyes, brown skin tone, and white face mask. Her shirt is rose colored and long-sleeved. She's also covered herself with a thin, loose-fitting black jacket. Remembering everyone else's attire, Shizu is not surprised to see that she too wears black dress pants.

Shizu knows that she should introduce herself as soon as possible, but she should at least say goodbye to Pal first. He is nice despite his eccentricities. "Excuse me, Pal, but there is someone here I would like to meet."

"Of course," he responds. "I… will be able… to handle myself here. Please… do not feel… burdened by me."

She feels like she should give him some direction, however. She points towards Chouki and says, "If you want to start somewhere, you may find luck with Chouki. He's the Ultimate Marine Biologist, and, although he's been hesitant to trust people, you may find some common ground. He can be kind of prickly though, fair warning."

Pal waves her off. "Thank you… for your advice. I am interested… in hearing his tales. Perhaps… he too… has heard the voice of Poseidon."

With that, the two of them part ways. Shizu makes her way towards the unknown woman, giving a quick apology as she maneuvers around Kaixi. As she gets closer, the woman notices her approaching and gives a polite smile.

"Hello there," Shizu greets. "I don't believe we've met yet. If we have, then I sincerely apologize, but getting to know thirteen people in under an hour can somewhat scramble one's brain. In any case, my name is Shizu Saneyoshi."

They shake hands, and she also introduces herself. "If we've met, then I've also forgotten you. I'm Samia Bahouri, and I'm the Ultimate Epidemiologist. It's a bit of a long word, I know."

Shizu shakes her head. "It's fine, Samia. Could you also tell me your gender?"

"I'm female. I should probably also ask you for your gender." Samia pauses before mentioning, "I couldn't help but notice that you didn't say what your ultimate talent is. I'm pretty sure that my particular announcement mentioned that everyone here was an Ultimate."

Steeling herself, Shizu answers, "I am female as well. As for my talent, it merely slipped my mind. My talent is Ultimate Strategist."

Samia clicks her tongue. "A strategist, huh? That's got a lot of implications… If you don't mind me asking, what exactly did you do? I can't imagine you used your skills to only win chess tournaments, after all."

"…I mostly helped put together campaigns for local politicians. Corruption is common in politics, and those that are the least susceptible have a large handicap. That's where I come in." Technically, it's not a lie. That is what she did for a large portion of her time after being scouted.

Samia doesn't look entirely pleased by that response. "So you weren't involved with the election of major government officials then?"

"No." That's also not a lie, but Shizu can feel her hands start to ball into fists.

"Okay then," Samia finally relents. "Sorry about getting intense for a few moments there. You can probably guess that I've got more than a few problems with the Japanese government. And, it's not really an excuse, but this place has gotten me tense."

Shizu accepts her apology quickly. "There is a lot to complain about, so it's no trouble. If I had to guess, your concerns aren't entirely disease related."

That gets a small laugh out of Samia. "Hey, not everything about someone is related to their talent, you know. Although, if you want to discuss diseases, I'm always open."

"Let's hope that such a discussion isn't necessary. I would rather not think about a virus getting into a small, enclosed area like this." Shizu frowns.

Unfortunately, Samia only furthers her worries. "See, I was thinking about that earlier. I was looking around the second floor earlier, and I found a room with a medical cross above it. But the door had this weird cartoon bear head on it, and it was locked when I tried the handle. Whoever brought us here better not be taunting us by putting the infirmary just out of reach."

"So far, everyone has looked in good health. With any luck, sickness won't be an issue for however long we're stuck here," posits Shizu, as she takes a look at everyone else in the room. Aside from some attitude issues, all of the people here seem well off.

However, as she scans the room, she notices someone that she didn't before. An unknown woman is standing in the leftmost corner at the back of the room. Had she always been in there? "Excuse me, Samia, but would you happen to know who that is?" she asks.

Following Shizu's line of sight, Samia squints. "No, I don't. That's weird… I don't think she was there before. I thought I'd have heard the door opening when she came in. Maybe we were distracted by our conversation."

"That sounds reasonable," Shizu agrees. "If you'll excuse me, I should go figure out who she is. It was nice meeting you."

"The feeling's mutual. Anyways, I'm feeling worn out by everything, so I think I'll stay here. See you later." Samia waves her off and goes back to staring at the raised podium.

* * *

 _Samia Bahouri_

 _\- Female, probably older than I am_

 _\- Ultimate Epidemiologist (studies the spread of diseases, though likely also has good background on diseases and medicine in general)_

 _\- Easy to talk to, but possibly highly opinionated (not a bad thing)_

 _\- Open about beliefs, perhaps to ensure everyone knows where she stands or so that likeminded people may find their way to her_

* * *

Before Shizu reaches this new person, she takes in her appearance. She has her silver hair tied up in a neat bun on her left side. She's got a light tan, and her eyes are a light greenish color. She's wearing an olive green peacoat that she's left open over a knee length, white pleated dress. Shizu does find it a bit odd that her choice in footwear is a pair of brown hiking boots, but she's never been one to understand fashion.

She shifts around in place as Shizu gets closer but doesn't make any indication that she's going to go away. Once Shizu is close enough to talk to, the woman finally speaks up. "Can I help you?"

"A little bit, yes. I am attempting to get to know everyone, so I apologize for bothering you. I'm Shizu Saneyoshi." Shizu considers neglecting to mention her talent once again, but, seeing how she's been called out on it every time, that strategy is a bust. "…I am the Ultimate Strategist."

She gives a once over of Shizu, contemplating her words. "I am Fumika Amari, the Ultimate Historian. I hope we can learn a lot from each other, Miss Saneyoshi."

A historian, huh? Shizu wouldn't have guessed that from Fumika's appearance, but she supposes that there isn't truly a standard historian outfit. Feeling a bit guilty for her judgmental thoughts, she decides to ask, "Is there a particular reason that you're standing alone over here?"

Fumika gives a pained smile. "Can you blame me for not feeling very social right now? I just woke up in a strange place and immediately get ordered to play some game that I know I didn't sign up for. If anything, it's bizarre that everyone else is acting like everything's fine."

"Everyone copes in different ways," Shizu argues. "I imagine that many people here have either used denial or hope to help themselves function normally. Also, we have all been put in the same situation. Sometimes, shared misery can create unity."

Thinking over her words, Fumika replies, "That could very well be true, but that doesn't take away my own uncertainties. They're all probably lovely people."

"They are." Shizu hopes that her expression sells her half-truth. Most of them are perfectly fine, however… She cuts of her train of thought before it can go anywhere too dark.

"You seem very lovely too, Shizu. Even if you are probably trying to analyze me right now." Fumika taps her temple, and Shizu notices that she's wearing a pearl ring on her finger.

"That's… not entirely inaccurate," she admits. "I prefer to think of it more as an extended first impression."

Fumika laughs. "Well, it does give you a bit of charm." She pauses for a second before saying, "I hope my "extended first impression" was good, at least."

Shizu neither confirms nor denies her comment, instead choosing to tilt her head downwards. "Hmm… Well, I'm grateful that I didn't accidentally insult you."

Fumika waves her off. "No worries. I wasn't looking forward to talking too much, but…"

When she pauses in her speech, Shizu says, "I am sorry for interrupting your alone time. If you would like, I could leave you alone now."

"Thanks, but I hope you're not that desperate to get rid of me. You're a very interesting person, Miss Saneyoshi. I don't want to keep you if you have something else to do, but, if there's something else you want to ta-" Fumika gets cut off suddenly.

A loud ringing noise fills the room, as if someone is turning on a microphone with the sensitivity settings wrong. Everyone flinches or covers their ears. A familiar voice rings out, "Attention! Attention! Everyone's finally here! Please take a seat so that we can get this meeting under way!"

The room goes silent again, but it quickly gets filled with the sounds of footsteps and chairs scraping against the floor. Fumika starts to move towards the chair closest to her, but Shizu holds her back. "Sorry, but, very quickly, what's your gender?"

Fumika answers, "Female." Shizu nods, gives her a thumbs up, and makes her way back to the front of the room. She wants to get a clear view of what's about to go down, but the only available seat is between Kaixi and… Sawako. She doesn't have another option, so she takes it, pulling her notepad from her pocket as she does so.

* * *

 _Fumika Amari_

 _\- Female, most likely older than me_

 _\- Ultimate Historian (studies all eras of history, probably a jack of all trades rather than specializing in a specific time period)_

 _\- Initially either nervous or standoffish but seems to have a nice disposition once conversation is underway_

 _\- Seems to be either perceptive or intelligent, could be useful to get to know_

* * *

There's a bit of nervous chattering in the briefing room until the loud ringing noise starts up again. Once more, the high pitched voice from the announcement speaks up. "Looks like you brats are good at following instructions, huh? Okay then, without further ado, let's get this party started!"

From behind the podium, something jumps out, doing a few flips in the air until it finally lands. It appears to be… a bear? Shizu's eyes widen as she remembers the picture on the wall blocking the stairway. This bear is half white, half black, just like the picture. Its left eye is black and beady, but its right eye is twisted and elongated, glowing an eerie red color. And its smile… the left half is normal, but the right half is jagged and cruel. She can feel her heart start to beat.

It clears its throat and shouts, "I'm Monokuma, and I'll be your game master! Who's ready to have some fun?!"

There's about one second of silence before the room explodes into shouts.

* * *

 _Shizu's Notes_

 _Character Profiles/Impressions_

 _\- Group seems more like a mixed bag after meeting the others_

 _\- Can already sense possible friction among certain members, including with myself_

 _Dining Room/Kitchen_

 _\- Large enough to seat all sixteen people trapped here_

 _\- Could be a good meeting place, has both enough room and food to lure in potential stragglers_

 _\- Lots of tools for cooking, though none of them work (may get turned on after meeting)_

 _\- Has a pantry and other unknown room (metal door seems strange and one of a kind)_

 _\- May also have easily available food, so cooking may be unnecessary_

 _\- Time here could be limited by the amount of food we have, unsure if it will ever get restocked_

* * *

A/N: Hello again folks! I hope you enjoyed seeing all of the characters that got submitted. Maybe you've already picked out your favorites? I've really enjoyed seeing everyone's thoughts on the characters from last chapter, so thank you for all of your reviews. It means the world to me. I hope I've done at least as well with this next batch. If I've messed something up, please do not hesitate to PM me and yell at me. Whatever the case is, we're finally ready to get on with the actual story part of this... um... story. The next chapter, again, may take some time since I'm back at college, but I should hopefully find some time to write. As usual, I hope you all have a fantastic day.


	6. Prologue: Game Start 05

Beta Read by Lupus Overkill

* * *

Shizu's mind races with questions. There's too many of them for her to keep track of, and her fingers simply refuse to cooperate. Paradoxically, she cannot think, and the page of her notepad is as blank as her mind. Eventually, she becomes aware enough of the shouts coming from the Ultimates around her.

"What the hell is that?!" Takumi shrieks from the back of the room.

Hachi sounds more confused than scared. "It's… some kind of bear? A panda maybe?"

"Bears don't talk," scoffs Chouki. "It's obviously a stuffed animal or a robot."

"What's all this talk of games and gamemasters?" Sawako's voice is firm and seems to be louder than the others, although that may be because Shizu is sitting next to her.

Michio chuckles uneasily. "I'd say it's a rejected mascot, but who in the right mind would make something like that? You'd freak kids out!"

Next to her, she hears the telltale clicks of Kaixi's camera, though the man himself is silent.

This… Monokuma thing is evidently fed up with everyone's voices. Rather than shout out over them, the bear adjusts the microphone. Instantly, a harsh ringing echoes throughout the briefing room, and everyone covers their ears or at least flinches.

Satisfied with his handiwork, he starts talking again, though his voice is only slightly less ear grating than the microphone's whine. "Are you brats done making a ruckus now?"

"…No." Soraru's tone is only a little hesitant.

Once more, Monokuma adjusts the microphone. The noise shrieks out again, and everyone covers their eyes as well, though many take the time to glare at Soraru.

"Any more objections?" Monokuma asks smugly. After a short silence, he continues, "Great! Sounds like everyone knows their place. Then, without further ado, let me officially welcome you to the Ultimate Game!"

Almost instinctively, Shizu mutters under her breath, "Ultimate Game?"

Monokuma's having none of that apparently, as he instantly calls her out. "You down in front. Pipe down, or I'll pipe up again!" He crosses his arms and grumbles, "Kids these days… No patience at all. I go through all the trouble of gathering you all up, and you won't even let me explain the rules to my own game…"

She can tell that several others want to voice their concerns, but the threat of having their eardrums abused has made them weary. Thus, they tolerate the bear's complaining for a little while longer.

After a minute, he goes right back into presenter mode. "Well, whatever! I'm not going to let you all get me down!" He clears his throat, or at least pretends to. "For the duration of this game, you'll all be staying in this building. No one gets to leave until there's a winner. So, listen up, 'cause I'm gonna explain the rules!"

Just in case he's not going to repeat them, Shizu decides to write them all down.

"Rule 1: Violence against me, Monokuma, is explicitly forbidden. Don't even think about trying that unless you want to face punishment!"

Next to her, Sawako raises her hand but shouts before she's called upon. "Excuse me! What exactly does violence entail? For example, if you get hurt accidentally, does that still count?"

"Already trying to rough me up? Police brutality!" Monokuma recoils in fear. From the corner of her eye, Shizu notices Sawako flinch. Apparently done with that joke, he reasserts himself, raising a single claw. "I decide what counts as violence! No gaming the system!"

"Rule 2: You may have seen some blocked off areas with my gorgeous face plastered on them." Shizu thinks back to the bars in the hallway and the wall at the bottom of the stairs. "You're not allowed to force your way past any of those areas. Trying to open doors, breaking down walls, slipping through the bars… All off limits! They're blocked for a reason!"

Takumi mumbles under his breath, "Why even build those rooms in the first place?"

Evidently, he wasn't quiet enough, as Monokuma snipes back, "Because some of those rooms need maintenance done. And some need to be closed every now and then for cleaning. I'm a bear, not a pig! I don't wallow around in my own filth like some loser who never leaves his room." Takumi splutters, but the bear continues regardless.

"Rule 3: In this game, nighttime begins at 12 am and ends at 8 am. Announcements will be made at both times. During nighttime, all lights will be dimmed, so stay in your rooms or stumble around in the dark!"

It seems as though no rule can pass by without a comment, and this time, to Shizu's surprise, Tsubame meekly steps up. "Um… Excuse me, but how are we supposed to stay in our rooms if we can't get back inside them? I could not find a key card in my room. Were we supposed to prop the doors open?"

Monokuma brushes her off. "Nah, I'll hand out your keycards later. I don't want you all hiding away just yet." Tsubame nods, taking in that information.

"Rule 4: The punishments doled out will vary in severity. I have the final say in how people get punished, so no complaining if someone gets a lighter sentence than you!"

Nobody has anything to say about that one, so he moves on.

"Rule 5: I am allowed to change the rules at any time. Adding, editing, deleting... It's all on the table!" With that, he takes a bow. "That's everything! Please enjoy your time spent here to the fullest!" He raises a paw in the air, as if he was trying to pump up a crowd.

The crowd remains silent, mostly out of confusion. Pal eventually asks the question that's on everyone's mind. "Pardon me… but… I do not… believe that you have… clarified…. anything."

"Y-yeah," Kaixi chimes in. "I mean, it's nice to know what we can and can't do, but we still don't even know what game we're supposed to be playing."

"Yeah, so far, this game sounds really boring!" Soraru whines.

"What? I never explained how to win?" The shock in Monokuma's voice is obviously fake, but he's probably having fun hamming it up. "Oh dear! How could I have been so careless to leave out the most important part?!"

Morgan sighs and leans back in her chair calmly. "It would appear he neglected to mention it simply so one of us would have to ask. What an annoying display."

"You really want to know what you have to do to win?" There's something sinister in Monokuma's words. It's the same something that Shizu heard in that announcement message, when he gleefully cackled about a game.

"No, please, keep dragging this out." Michio rubs his left temple in irritation.

Kazuha shouts over him with a hint of anxiety. "Yes please!"

"Well, if you really want to win this game and leave…" He drags out each word, clearly enjoying stringing them along. Kaixi scoots closer the edge of his seat, and Shizu feels Sawako stiffen as she straightens her back. Someone's teeth are chattering loudly, but she can't tell whose. Her grip on her pen is so tight that she's afraid it might snap in half, but she can't control her hand.

"You have to kill someone."

The door to the briefing room bursts open.

Everyone turns their heads to see who just entered, though the chilling words still echo in their minds.

Standing in the doorway, slowly making his way in, is an unkempt man. He's got a blue and white striped beanie on his head. It doesn't fully cover his curly, white hair, as the ends are still visible underneath his hat. His red eyes are half-open, and he lets out a yawn. Did he just wake up? His clothes look like pajamas, so that may be the case. At the very least, his light blue shirt and light grey pajama pants seem comfortable, though she's not a big fan of his flip-flops.

His speech is a little unfocused, and he tries to blink the sleep out of his eyes. "…Huh? Shit, am I late or something?" Everyone keeps staring at him. "Did I miss anything important?"

Monokuma just chuckles. "Just the fact that you have to kill someone in order to leave."

"Oh, okay. Thanks man." He nods along. Then, he blinks rapidly and fully opens his eyes. "Wait, what now?"

His shock startles the others out of their own daze. Within seconds, everything is thrown into chaos. Amidst all of the ruckus, Shizu can make out a few voices, even though she's staying quietly rooted in her seat.

That's not the case for the others, however. She can hear a few people hurriedly getting up from their chairs. Sawako's on her feet in a flash. Before Shizu knows it, she's directly in front of Monokuma with her arms stretched out. Is she… trying to defend them? "What are you playing at, bear?!"

There are some footsteps coming from behind her, and, when she turns to look, she sees Takumi very close to the doors, yet standing completely still as he eyes the newcomer. "No way," he says over and over again, as if believing it enough will change reality.

Michio's hands are trembling as they dig into his legs. "K-killing huh?" There's a nervous glint in his eyes, and a bit of sweat rolls down his forehead.

"I… you… killing?!" Samia splutters, like she wants to, has to, say something but can't conjure up the words. It's a stark contrast to Kogi and Fumika behind her. Both have intense expressions on their faces, but, despite Kogi's bandanna around his mouth, it's Fumika who seems the hardest to read.

All of this is a little tough to hear of the screams coming from Kazuha, Hachi, and Kaixi. Shizu can't really blame them. While she isn't one to scream, she's certain it's involuntary, much like how her body refuses to budge an inch.

Throughout all of this, Monokuma has stood silently behind the podium with his ever-present smile. He's not bothering to respond to Sawako's accusation, much less acknowledge her presence. Instead, he casually looks around the room, seemingly enjoying the panic. Then, his gaze meets Shizu's, and she swears that he lingers on her for a few seconds longer than everyone else. That couldn't just be her imagination.

"Are you even paying attention?" Sawako shouts, never once budging from her stance.

"What's the big problem? It's only a little killing. Bludgeoning, stabbing, poisoning, suffocating… Sure, it might sound like a lot, but don't you police officers deal with that stuff all the time?" Monokuma then gestures towards Michio. "Same goes for you coroners. You should be used to this stuff by now!" Said coroner grits his teeth, and his hands twitch faster than previously. The bear laughs again. "Hey, you were all begging me to let you know, so this is all on you!"

Samia yells, "Don't even pretend like you're blameless in this!"

"What's the catch?"

…That certainly gets Shizu's attention. She whirls around to face Chouki, who's glaring dully towards Monokuma.

"W-what do you mean catch?!" Hachi is white as a sheet.

The only unknown party speaks up as well. "Yeah man, I think the killing thing is the catch." His words are too casual for his concerned expression.

Chouki shakes his head bitterly. "Humans kill each other all the time, and the bear clearly knows it. If that's shocking, then you're either lying or need to pay attention for once in your life. Besides, it can't be that easy." He then points towards Sawako. "If killing someone is all it takes, then she could snap someone's neck and be done with it. So, I ask again, what's the catch?"

"Sir, are you suggesting-" Sawako doesn't get to finish, as Monokuma interrupts her.

"Heh, you're not as dumb as you look. Of course killing someone isn't all there is to it. You've also got to get away with it. If everyone else figures out that you've killed someone, then that's it for you." He rests his paws behind his head. "After all, we can't have a run-of-the-mill criminal mingling with the rest of you. Ultimates should be Ultimate killers too!"

He then looks at his wrist, where there is apparently an imaginary watch. With phony shock, he proclaims, "Well, look at the time! I've spent way too long talking. I bet you're all eager to start exploring your new homes! Or maybe you're eager to get a head start on your murder plans? I'll let you all take your time with that. See you all soon!" He jumps back behind the podium and vanishes from view.

The silence is oppressive this time. Monokuma's entire speech left Shizu without any words. She had a million questions still, but her mouth would not open. Her body would not budge. Her eyes could not help but dart around from face to face frantically. Chouki's grim acceptance, Kaixi's panic, Tsubame's sadness, and even Soraru's uncharacteristic pain… It painted an unpleasant picture. As much as it pained her to admit it…

It seemed everyone suspected each other.

How could they not? Their only immediate avenue of escape was plainly spelled out for them. They had to murder someone. As if that wasn't enough, subterfuge was necessary. They must ensure that nobody discovers that they did it. The fact that Chouki explicitly brought it up only added fuel to the fire of suspicion. Who could truly trust anyone after hearing that?

"We have nothing to fear."

…Apparently, Morgan.

She stands from her seat, and her tone makes her appear taller than she actually is. "I know for certain that nobody here wishes to kill anyone. It is not our fate to perish here."

"You can't say that. You don't know what goes on in other people's hearts," Chouki counters instantly.

"Perhaps not," Morgan says, a calming serenity present in her voice. "However, the spirits do. They have told me that nobody here wishes to soil their hands with such a task as… this. Your suspicions are unfounded."

From Shizu's perspective, Morgan's claims have much less basis in reality, but announcing those thoughts would only have a negative impact at this time. She cannot believe she is doing this, but she finally works up the courage to say, "…This game requires our cooperation to work. We only start… "playing"… when someone actually decides to kill a living person in cold blood."

Maybe her talent lends more credence to this idea than Morgan's, since she sees a few people begin to relax. Kazuha, in particular, cheers up. "That's right! There's no way I would ever kill anyone! And I believe all of you, too!"

"Yeah," Kaixi agrees. "There's just no way that any of you would lower yourselves to those standards. It's not like Monokuma can just force us into killing."

"That's… yeah." Fumika stands up awkwardly. She likely had something she wanted to say but either thought better of it or didn't fully flesh it out in her head. Even now, she's grasping her arm nervously, but there's confidence burning behind her eyes.

"This is kinda cheesy, huh? Everyone banding together to survive... Sounds like a scene right out of a shonen manga." Shizu nearly forgot that Soraru was there. Xe had been so quiet ever since the topic of killing came up. Finally, though, xe has regained xer playfulness. "So… What's next? I'm getting bored sitting in this stuffy room!"

Pal offers an interesting proposal. "We… should explore... our surroundings."

"But I already checked out all of places that could be fun, but they were all boring!" Soraru complains. "I don't wanna walk around with everyone to see it all again!"

"We don't need to look around together. Everyone moves at their own pace," Tsubame offers quietly, though she doesn't meet anyone's eyes.

However, Samia raises a fair point. "That's nice, but I don't think it's a great idea to split up the group for the day. I mean, do you really think _this_ is a good last note to leave everyone on? It might be a pain, but I'd personally like to meet up at least once more. Going off on our own makes that a little hard."

Michio raises his voice. "How about this then? Let's all explore the building by ourselves. Once you're satisfied with your search, you go to the dining room on this floor and wait for everyone else. If someone's taking a long time to get back, I'll personally go get them." He gives a thumbs up and waits for the response.

Nobody can find too many issues with that plan, so it's settled. Shizu watches them all exit quickly, while she stays behind to finish jotting down some of her thoughts. When she finishes and looks up from her notepad, she's a little surprised to see Tsubame still in the room with her.

"…Are you waiting for something?" she asks.

Tsubame nods. "I was a little worried about you. You've been quiet for a while. I know it's not my place to judge, but you were seemed more talkative when I first met you. I wanted to make sure everything was alright… Um… As alright as things can be, I mean." She tugs on her braid awkwardly at that last sentence.

Taking a deep breath, Shizu says, "Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine. There is simply a lot of information that needed to take in."

"Tell me about it."

Apparently, the mystery man is also still in the room. Again, Shizu curses her lack of perception. Has being in prison degraded her senses that quickly?

"No seriously, tell me about it. I'm still very confused," he repeats.

Shizu blinks. "…Pardon my rudeness, but who exactly are you?"

"…Oh right, I guess you wouldn't recognize me, huh? I can get behind that," he chuckles. "Joshua Miller, coming at you live."

"It is very nice to meet you, Joshua. I am Tsubame Watari, and I'm the Ultimate Kamishibiya." She gives a little bow.

In return, he gives her a befuddled look. "I'm sorry, what now? I'm kind of an ignorant American, so you're probably gonna have to run that by me again."

"Kamishibai is the art of storytelling via paper plays," Shizu explains, though she probably should have let Tsubame do the talking. She is the expert after all… Well, now that she's talking, she might as well keep going. "In extremely simple terms, think of it like a picture book being told through a fancy slideshow."

"Huh…" Joshua scratches his head. "Never heard of it. Sounds interesting though."

"It is," Tsubame confirms with a smile. "Though I may have some bias on the matter."

He laughs. "Nah, it's cool. You do you."

Shizu coughs. "Sorry to interrupt, but I should also introduce myself. I'm Shizu Saneyoshi." She pauses for a moment before deciding to say, "Ultimate Strategist. I couldn't help but notice you didn't mention your talent. If it's not too much trouble, could you tell us?"

Joshua tugs on his beanie. "Oh right, that old thing. Yeah, I was the Ultimate Video Blogger."

"Was?" she inquires.

"It's a long story." He pauses then corrects himself. "Well, okay, it's not actually a long story, but I don't really want to talk about it, and people tend not to want to listen to long stories. Ain't that right, Tsubame?"

She fidgets about in place at being suddenly addressed. "W-well… there is an art to being succinct. But, if you tell the story well enough, you can keep any audience entertained."

"Never thought of it that way before…"He trails off, only for his eyes to widen. He curses, "Aw shit, I completely forgot! I was supposed to say my pronouns and ask for yours. Damn it!"

Shizu shakes her head. "It's no trouble. Both of us are female. I've been meaning to ask you as well."

"Yeah but still, if there's one thing I've learned from always being online, it's that you can never really know people without asking." He sighs in frustration before shaking his head and moving on. "Anyways, I'm male, and I use he/him/his. Sorry that took a little while."

That reminds her… "Actually, speaking of taking a while, is there a reason you showed up so late?"

Joshua scratches the back of his neck. "Well… I was kinda sleeping, y'know? I've found that it's hard to go to things when you're not awake."

Tilting her head curiously, Tsubame prods further. "You slept through that alarm? It woke me up very quickly. Was your monitor not working?"

Yes, that is strange. Even stranger is the fact that Monokuma started the meeting without him. Could that bear have simply been impatient, or was there another reason? Whatever the case, Shizu isn't keen on sharing those thoughts just yet.

With a lazy grin, Joshua replies to Tsubame, "I've always been a deep sleeper. I'm the kind of person that needs to set, like, ten alarms to get up in the morning. Once I'm out, that's pretty much it."

"It's the opposite for me. I wake up every day at the exact same time, even if I don't have anything planned at that time," Shizu offers.

Not wanting to be left out, Tsubame also says quietly, "I usually only need one alarm, but it does depend on how tired I was the night before…"

She didn't mean to get sidetracked with conversations about sleep schedules. In fact, she'd much rather get a good luck at the rest of the building. Therefore, she decides to change the subject. "Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Joshua. Sorry to cut this conversation short, but there's some things I would like to check out before our next meeting."

"Yeah, I should probably start checking this place out too," Joshua agrees.

Tsubame looks back and forth between them. "Would either of you like some company?"

Shizu declines, however. "I prefer to explore on my own. It helps me concentrate." She takes out her pen and spins it around her fingers.

Similarly, Joshua shakes his head and yawns. "I'd just slow you down. Still waking up, y'know?"

Shizu doesn't stick around for Tsubame to object. Thus, as she moves past Joshua and out of the door, she gives a wave goodbye with the hand holding her pen.

* * *

 _Joshua Miller_

 _\- Male, probably a little younger than me_

 _\- Ultimate Video Blogger (shares large portions of his life with others online, perhaps daily?)_

 _\- Either very tired at this time or is able to keep his cool even in times like these_

 _\- Seems lazy_

 _\- Showed up late to the meeting, claims to have overslept, yet Monokuma did nothing (perhaps expected this outcome?)_

* * *

Shizu hasn't run into anyone on her walk to the elevator, though the noises coming from the dining room, some people are either searching there or have already given up. There's nobody in the elevator lobby either, which suits her just fine. Figuring she should start from the top, she makes for the fourth floor.

It's a nonstop trip. The elevator is actually fairly noisy, now that she thinks about it. It may be possible to hear people traveling if they're close enough to the walls. She should test that out later, if she remembers. For now, as the elevator dings, she steps out.

Glancing around, nothing appears to be different. The bars on her left are still there, but she now understands what the picture on them means. Even from this far away, she can make out Monokuma's features.

Before she investigates the dorms again, she checks out the stairwell. She begins walking upwards, only to come across a similar wall to the one blocking the path to the first floor. Just as she suspected… Still, it's good to confirm these things. They truly are limited to just these three floors. Satisfied, she goes back down.

When she reaches the hallway containing all of the rooms, she finds Fumika trying to look through the bars at the other end. Hearing Shizu's approaching footsteps, she looks over her shoulder and greets her. "Hello Shizu. What are you doing up here? I thought that was your room. Wouldn't you have seen all of this already?"

She looks to where Fumika is pointing. "It is. However, I wanted to see if any areas got unblocked. That doesn't appear to be the case, though."

"I didn't think that was a possibility." Fumika scratches her chin as she thinks. "That kind of makes me want to check out the third floor again. However, that there are no changes here probably means it's the same there."

"The third floor? Did you wake up there?" Shizu asks.

"That's correct. There's a fair bit more that is open than on this floor." She returns to peering through the barred off section. "As far as I can see, we can't do much here. There is only more hallway from this angle. For all we know, there could be no more rooms."

Shizu raises an eyebrow at that. "That sounds like an incredible waste of space."

"It is only slim possibility," Fumika concedes. "But it would not be any stranger than separating everyone by floor."

She's hit upon a puzzle that Shizu hasn't been able to figure out. Spatially, it makes much more sense to put all of the rooms in the same place. While this seems to somewhat be the case, as she suspects all of the rooms to be in the same place on each floor, it's still bizarre. "Perhaps this building was used for some other purpose before whoever captured us commandeered it," she guesses.

"In that case, what purpose did this building originally serve?" Fumika responds. "This may be caused by not having access to the whole building, but I have no idea why anyone would construct something such as this. The long empty halls are an especially puzzling design choice."

"Could this have been a very old building that's been refurbished? I am not familiar with the design ethos of the past." It's a subtle prod to see if Fumika has any more ideas.

However, she does not even bother facing Shizu to deny those claims. "While I am not an expert on architecture, I don't recall any ancient Japanese buildings quite like this, if that is what you were referring to."

"…if we even are still in Japan," Shizu mutters.

"…Right," Fumika agrees.

With their conversation screeching to a complete halt, Shizu figures that she's done all she can on this floor. "I'm going to head off," she announces. "Be careful around those bars, Fumika. Remember the rules."

"No worries. I'm not attempting to break them down, so there shouldn't be a problem." That doesn't exactly inspire confidence in her, but the historian seems confident enough that she'll be safe. Either that or she is looking for any excuse to be alone again.

Shizu takes one last look at all of the pixel-plates on the doors and heads back to the elevator. Once again, she runs into nobody else, and the hum of the elevator is her only companion. The third floor's elevator lobby has no bars on either side. Thus, she makes her way to the right first, towards the dorms.

Upon her arrival, she's met with a similar looking hall, with another set of five doors lining either side of the metal walls. There are also bars on the other side of the hall, meaning this floor isn't entirely free to explore. What is most apparent, however, is the sight of Takumi furiously pounding on a door and rattling the handle while Morgan watches on, clearly amused.

"Did you forget that the doors to our personal rooms are locked?"

Takumi jolts away from the sound of her voice. Morgan giggles at the sight. After he regains some of his composure, he glares at her, though it's hard to tell from under his bag. "Of course I didn't. But Monokuma never gave us those keycards, even though he said he would."

"I do not believe he ever told us when he would give them away," Morgan points out. She doesn't even bat an eyelash when Takumi fixes his attention on her.

"Well… whatever! Maybe if I make enough of a scene, he'll get fed up and give me mine early!"

"…Is that really your plan?" Shizu questions.

He's not backing down. "Look, he already made an exception for that one guy who showed up late. And it's not like I'm breaking any rules by doing this."

"Maybe not as of now. However, recall the final rule," Morgan intones. "Should Monokuma feel like it, he may add more rules. The spirits have warned me not to take him lightly. You would do best to follow in suit."

Those words cause him to stop his struggling. She's probably imaging things, but it almost looks like his bag paled, as if it were his actual face. "Y-you don't think he'd really be that petty, r-right?"

"So petty as to be annoyed by loud noises and potential property damage? Hmmm, I wonder…" After saying those words, Morgan trails off mysteriously, placing her hand over her mouth.

For a few moments, Takumi hangs frozen in place awkwardly, both of his arms glued to the handle. Then, his movements become even more frantic. He even places one of his legs on the door to give himself more leverage. "Gaaaaah, whatever! I just want to get out of here already! I never signed up for this!"

His desperation is almost inspiring, though she's seriously starting to worry for his safety. Monokuma hasn't popped up yet, so he's safe for now. That handle looks fairly sturdy, but one can never be too careful about these things.

Morgan walks over and places a hand on Shizu's shoulder. She, perhaps in an attempt to assuage her concerns, says, "No harm will come to him. As long as I am watching over him, I assure you that things will turn out for the best. I have ways of knowing."

She fails to hide the skepticism in her face as she watches Takumi flail about, so she simply says what's on her mind. "…Thank you, but I have trouble believing that."

"Trouble believing in me, or trouble believing in the higher powers that told me?" Morgan removes her hand slowly, yet her mysterious smile stays fixed.

She decides to sidestep the question. "I more so have issues believing that Takumi can be controlled. I admit that I don't know him that well, but he seems incredibly driven."

"D-don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Takumi shouts from his position.

Morgan ignores him. "If things get out of hand, I have my ways of restoring balance. I have also finished my own investigation, so I would be happy to keep an eye on him for you. You still have much to explore."

Shizu narrows her eyes. "...How would you know what I have and haven't explored?"

Morgan smirks. "Have you forgotten my talent so quickly?" She shakes her head, and her hair sways in motion. "Now, you may leave. If Takumi manages to succeed in his attempts, I will prevent him from ignoring the meeting."

Thanking her, Shizu takes a look around at the pixel-plates before she heads back. From the look of them, it appears that the people staying on this floor are Fumika, Hachi, Takumi, Soraru, and Kogi. She's going to need to check the second floor rooms, because there's something bothering her about the arrangements.

For now, she makes her way back to the elevator lobby and proceeds further down the opposite path. As with the rest of the hallways, it is devoid of any substance. Sterile is the closest word she can think of. It's actually a little to tell which floor she's on, since there aren't any markings to orient her.

She eventually comes to an opening to her right. It is similar to how the briefing room and dining hall were both positioned in the second floor hallway. Above the door is a picture of… a chair? Is this a sitting room? Eager to find out, she walks inside.

Lounge would have been a better guess. There's a huge dark red couch towards the middle of the room. On either side of it, there are similarly colored armchairs. They're all spaced around a fuzzy rug and are directly in front of a brick fireplace. Although it goes up to the ceiling, she doesn't see any evidence of anything to burn, meaning that it's most likely an electric fireplace. At the very back of the room, resting on a table, there is a very large fish tank. She doesn't recognize any of the species, but she does recognize some people that might.

Chouki is gazing intensely at the fish tank. His eye level is just right to where he doesn't need to strain himself or find something to stand on. Pal is also standing next to him, though he has to hunch over. As if that wasn't enough, Kaixi is sitting in one of the chairs, though he's angled it to face the other two.

Kaixi is the first to notice her. Perhaps before he himself is even aware, he's taken her picture again. The sound of his camera clicking alerts Chouki and Pal to her presence as well.

"Hey Shizu!" Kaixi tips his hat.

Pal greets her as well. "It is… good… to see you once more."

Chouki merely nods before turning his attention back to the fish.

"I see you've all made yourselves comfortable here," Shizu says.

"Yup! These chairs are pretty dang comfy." Kaixi rubs the arm of his chair gently and shuffles deeper into the fabric. "That couch is really nice, but I'm finding the chairs more to my liking. Just a little tip." He gives an overdramatic wink.

Clearing his throat, Pal speaks up. "It may be a… small comfort… However, I am… glad to see… such a wide variety of fish."

"It'd be nice if they weren't stuck in a tank," mutters Chouki.

"That is… true," Pal agrees. "But… if they were free… they would not be… comforting us now. We should take our… victories where we can get them."

Deciding to offer his own support, Kaixi adds, "The fish are pretty. I feel like I could waste a lot of time watching them swim around. We could probably pull one of these chairs over for a better look, if you get tired of standing."

Chouki is silent for a while. He may be thinking over their words, but it's impossible to tell if he was even listening. He's clearly been thinking about something, because, when he finally speaks up, he says something kind of bizarre. "They're stuck in this aquarium, and we're stuck in this building. Guess we're no freer than these fish." Chouki clenches his fist. "They shouldn't be suffering here with us. They're completely blameless!"

It takes a minute for everyone to process this comment, but Kaixi recovers first. "H-hey, I get where you're coming from, but we're all blameless too."

That… is debatable. Shizu tucks her hands into her blazer's pockets and glances at the wooden floor.

Chouki ignores her silence and presses forwards. "Not as blameless as the fish. Besides, someone is going to have to clean their tank and feed them daily. But I don't see any supplies for that here."

Pal hazards a guess. "Monokuma… may take care of… those matters."

"And you really trust someone like him to do that?" Chouki states flatly.

Shizu finds her footing again. "We don't know much about him, but we do know that he's set up rules and a schedule for each day. It is not impossible that taking care of the fish is part of that schedule."

He sighs. "Please forgive me if I don't trust the bear to look after the fish well."

"I-I agree." Kaixi stumbles over his words because of his quick interjection. "We shouldn't let that bear anywhere near those poor fish."

Only Pal has a problem with that outlook. "However… we do not have… the means to care for these fish… ourselves. Should we interfere… with our captor… it may do more harm… than good. Like Acrisius trying to avoid his fate… only to run headfirst into it."

"O-of course, that makes sense too," Kaixi quickly agrees.

"Acrisius…" Shizu wracks her brain. "I apologize, but I cannot remember who that was. Greek mythology is not my strong suit."

Pal makes a face when she mentions mythology, but it's gone quickly. "Acrisius was the father of Persius, who slew the Medusa. He learned that his grandson was destined to slay him, so he attempted to cheat fate by sending him far away. Only, in the end, he was killed in a sporting accident."

Chouki scoffs. "Even back then, people made legends out of betrayal."

Pal taps his foot. "I suppose… that is one way of… interpreting that story," he admits.

Wherever she goes, things can't stop getting awkward. At this point, she's tempted to place the blame on herself. The three of them seemed to be getting along before she stepped inside. It may be prudent to excuse herself if that is the case.

"…I believe I've examined this room long enough. I do not want to keep everyone waiting, so I will take my leave now." She gives a short bow.

"Take care of yourself." While Chouki continues to state at the fish, he does give a two fingered wave goodbye.

"We will… meet again soon." With those words, Pal too returns to his gazing.

Kaixi begins to stand up with a little smile. "Hey, do you want some company? There's no need to run off on your own."

She declines his offer immediately. "No thank you. I have a lot to think about, and I would most likely ignore you if you tagged along. No offense."

"None taken. Have fun." He gets comfortable in his chair once again. However, he looks longingly back and forth between Shizu and the pair of ocean nerds.

She breathes a sigh of relief when she gets a good distance away. She's going to need to get better at socializing as soon as possible. Considering the circumstances she's found herself in, she doesn't have many other options. That's planning for later, however.

The next room she finds also juts off from the main hallway, just like all of the others. However, the path in front of her is barred off, just like it is near the dorms. Beyond there, there is something that Monokuma must not want them to access.

Seeing as that investigation will go nowhere, she turns towards the final room on this floor. The symbol above this door is an open box. Making her way into the room, she confirms that her suspicions were correct and that this is a storage room. Shelves as far as the eye can see. Well, more accurately, shelves to the very back of the room, but the room is very large. The ceiling appears to be a bit higher to accommodate them as well. Each shelf is stacked with boxes, some of which are overflowing with materials. They also have labels, which is nice for clerical purposes. Still, some of those shelves are high, especially for some of the shorter people here. Luckily enough, there are some step ladders lined up on the right wall.

One of those ladders is actually being used by Kazuha right now. She's a bit too caught up in checking the labels to notice Shizu, so she starts making her footsteps a bit louder so Kazuha doesn't get spooked. It works, since she looks over her shoulder, smiles, and starts descending.

"Shizu! Check out all of this stuff!" Her cheery voice is louder than the sound of her climbing down and landing on the floor.

Shizu nods. "It's a little hard not to. Any general indication of what's being stored?"

"All of the stuff I've looked at is building material, at least according to the labels. You know, wooden planks, nails, wire, glue… that kind of stuff." Kazuha counts off with her fingers as she lists her findings. "Oh, I also found a shelf full of tools! It was kinda weird to see a box filled with nothing but hammers, then one with only saws, and so on. But we can totally spruce this place up if we want!"

It takes a lot of effort for her mind to not go to dark places. It's worth it to preserve Kazuha's enthusiasm. "…That is true, but we may need blueprints or a solid plan if we hope to make anything out of materials alone. I don't recall their being an architect or a designer among our number."

A voice calls out to her from behind one of the shelves that is farther away. "It is not all bad. Some of the objects in this area are furniture. I'm certain they come with building instructions." Tsubame peeks her head out to the side after speaking. Shizu honestly didn't expect to run into her so soon.

Kazuha bounces on her feet. "Oooh! We can customize our rooms with that! That's so awesome!"

"It would be better if they were already put together," Shizu points out.

Kazuha shakes her head at this and hits her playfully on the arm. "Don't be such a downer, Shizu. Let's check out what we've got!" She grabs Shizu's arm and starts walking, but her grip isn't that tight. However, Shizu decides to follow her anyway. No need to cause an argument over something so petty.

Watching their approach, Tsubame downplays her own finds. "It isn't much. Most of the furniture here consists of chairs, desks, or bookshelves. I did not look into most of the boxes either, so they may not be that pleasing to look at or comfortable to sit on, in the case of chairs."

"Hey, it's fine. We can work with what we've got." Kazuha's smile fades slightly when she reads the labels on some of the closer boxes. "I uh… admittedly don't recognize any of these specific chair names, but even having options is great. Right?" Shizu squints as she too tries to read the labels. What on Earth is a "Koarp"? Are all these names Swedish or something? At least it mentions that it's an armchair, but a picture might be helpful.

"It does not end with furniture." Shizu inhales sharply when Sawako steps into view. "From my investigation, it appears that all sorts of odds and ends are stored here. For instance, I have found a shelf dedicated to posters we might put up. Another housed carpets. This may be more to your liking."

"Nice find, Sawako!" Kazuha cheers.

"Please think nothing of it. Any of you could have noticed if we switched investigation areas," Sawako says, though she sounds a little bashful at the praise.

It may be Shizu's imagination, but Tsubame seems slightly more uneasy than before, as her voice is quieter than before. "There is so much stored here. It is almost overwhelming."

"True," Shizu agrees. "It may be a byproduct of our indefinite stay here. Whatever the case, we will always have something new to build or play around with, if we so desire."

"I totally desire. I wanna see what else is here. Think they have anything in animal print?" Having said her piece, Kazuha runs off towards the section that Sawako came from.

"K-Kazuha, we should stick to our delegated sections!" Sawako calls out, to no avail. There's no response, and she sighs.

Tsubame nervously looks between the two remaining people and clears her throat. "Are you going to join us here, Shizu?"

She shakes her head. "I think you already know my answer."

"Yes, but it is polite to ask, just in case." Tsubame bows. "I will return to my search. Good luck with the rest of your exploration. Please be careful." She walks to another shelf and disappears around the other side. That was… abrupt.

Sawako takes inventory. "I suppose this leaves me with Kazuha's section. Did you happen to see where you left off?"

…Oh, she's being addressed. In that case… "No. …Sorry."

"That is quite alright. I will ask Kazuha then." Sawako turns to leave, but she snaps her fingers and rotates back. "I apologize for the sudden question, but would it be possible to meet up with me here later? Alone? There is something I wish to discuss with you."

Well that isn't worrying. As much as Shizu would like to decline, she has no good excuse. "Do you have a time in mind?" she asks.

"Tomorrow afternoon. I have some thoughts I must pin down, but I should be ready by then. Does this work for you?" Her answer is immediate. Whatever this is, she must have been thinking about it for a while.

"Yes, that works," Shizu confirms.

Sawako nods her head, her ponytail swaying in the process. "Thank you for your cooperation. I understand it may not be easy to trust others, so I promise not to let you down." She salutes then marches off towards Kazuha. Shizu practically rushes outside and back to the elevator, scribbling in her notepad all the way.

So far, the third floor has been the most open. They may not have much room to work with, but that small factor could be a blessing in disguise. Less room means less places to keep track of… and less potential danger zones.

When she finally stops on the second floor, she makes her way towards what she assumes to be the dorm rooms. A quick, silent walk proves her assumption to be true. It looks exactly the same as the dorm hallway on the other floors, save for the fact that it has six doors instead of five. The remaining Ultimates, being Kaixi, Morgan, Pal, Chouki, Samia, and Joshua, must be staying here. She confirms this by checking the pixel-plates one last time, just in case. The other difference is that there are no bars in sight, meaning she can continue walking forwards.

She does not meet anyone at first, though she does pass by a door with a washing machine label overhead. She would enter it, but, surprisingly, this particular door is marked with by a Monokuma head. What possible reason could there be for locking away what appears to be a laundry room? Everything else has pointed to them staying here for a long time, and she knows that her room only had about a week's worth of clean clothes in it.

…There's no way that dirty clothes would be used as a motive, right?

Shaking away that stray thought, she keeps walking. Suddenly, she hears shouting coming from ahead, and she picks up the pace. She nearly runs past the next opening but skids to a halt once she notices her error. Just like before, there is a door stamped with a Monokuma head, signaling that they cannot enter. Above this door, there is a medical cross. This must be the infirmary that Samia mentioned. Speaking of Samia, she is one of the people shouting. The other, to her surprise, is Kogi. It's too late to turn back. With a deep exhale, Shizu walks between them.

"Care to explain exactly what's going on?" She looks mostly towards Samia when saying this.

Samia scoffs and gestures to Kogi. "Ask him. He's the one who started-"

"You almost broke the rules." That was the first full sentence that Kogi has said. His voice is shockingly deep with an edge to it.

"I did not," Samia argues. "The rule states that we cannot force our way into places with Monokuma plastered on them, and I wasn't doing any forcing. I only tested the handle to see if the door was still locked. I never actually pushed inwards."

Kogi glares at her. "You think Monokuma cares about that distinction?"

"If he didn't, why would he set up the rules?" Samia glares right back.

"Perhaps he is trying to argue that Monokuma would not be able to tell the difference." Shizu attempts to placate her.

Her comment apparently has fallen on deaf ears. "He'd better be able to, or else he risks being unable to enforce his rules at all."

"He's not going to nullify them if he messes up," Kogi snipes.

Samia throws her hands up in the air. "It's the principle of the matter! We need to figure out how far we can push these bounds. Otherwise, he'll control us without actually needing to put down any rules. I'm not about to lay back and let that happen!"

He pinches his forehead. "What a pain… Don't come running to anyone if you get punished."

"You're supposed to be the Ultimate Protestor!" Samia exclaims. "Don't tell me you're keen on sitting back in a situation like this."

He actually breaks eye contact when she says that. He mutters under his breath. "…Maybe not, but I don't want to find out what Monokuma's punishments are. I'm not about to die here." He storms past Shizu and vanishes around the corner.

"Can you believe that guy? Honestly…" Shaking her head, Samia toys with the end of her headscarf.

"He may have been worried about you," Shizu says with a tinge of uncertainty.

"That's nice, but his concerns aren't going to get us out of here any faster. We have to fight back, even if we can only do that in small ways. His attitude won't help with that."

"No, it won't…" she trails off, trying to find a way to change the topic. "I'm guessing you desperately want to get into the infirmary, assuming this is one."

"Yes, I need to see what we've got. Like I mentioned earlier, if Monokuma released a disease into this building, we could all get infected before we realized what was happening. And, if something along those lines never happens, we still need medicine for our daily lives. Is everyone supposed to deal with headaches and sore throats? But it doesn't matter too much. As I'm sure you've guessed, it's locked up tight."

"What will you do now, in that case?" Shizu asks.

"Head to the dining hall," Samia answers. "It's the only place I haven't looked yet."

"I'm going that way too. If you're ready to get going, we can walk together," Shizu offers.

She thinks about it for a minute. "Well… okay. We'd see each other regardless, and I'm not eager for that awkward meeting."

Therefore, the two of them make their way to the meeting location. They go past the briefing room, confirming that the floor is structured in a loop. It also means that there are no other rooms on the second floor, just as Shizu thought.

"I've been meaning to bring this up at some point, but it is a touchy subject." Samia's voice startles her from her thoughts.

Shizu has an idea of what this is about but confirms her support. "Go for it."

"I was wondering about how you came to be here," she states. "The last thing that I remember was being hunched over at my desk and reading a paper. I think I dozed off before I finished, because I can't recall anything later, except for waking up in my room here."

"…It is the same for me. I was taken while I was asleep. That's all I can remember." Being unconscious is similar enough to being asleep for this not to be completely false.

Samia groans. "I was worried you'd say something like that. You seem like the type to notice small details, but, if you've got nothing, we might be in trouble."

"I have heard other stories, so don't despair just yet." At this statement, they've reached the dining room.

Inside, they find Michio sitting at the head of the long table, with Hachi and Joshua in seats on either side of him.

"Hey you two! Done checking things out?" Michio greets them, one arm slung over the back of his chair casually.

Samia shakes her head. "Almost. I still have to look at the back room."

"Might want to take a rain check on that one," he warns her. "Soraru's claimed the kitchen, and it's kind of a mess."

"Why? I thought none of the machines were working." Didn't xe complain about that nonstop?

Hachi explains whilst eating. She must have gotten into the pantry again. "They're working now. Maybe Monokuma turned the power back on. It's making Soraru super happy, at least, so that's good!"

"If it gets me free food, it's fine by me," Joshua says before noticing Samia. "Hey, I don't think we've met yet. Joshua Miller, Ultimate Video Blogger, he/him/his pronouns."

Samia responds. "Oh, I'm Samia Bahouri. I'm the Ultimate Epidemiologist, and my pronouns are she/her/hers. You were the person who barged in late, correct?"

He snaps and points at her with a finger gun. "Yup, that's me. Sleeping in is kind of my brand."

"That's a brand I can totally get behind," Michio laughs and leans over for a hi-five. Joshua completely misses his hand.

Samia huffs in frustration. "If I'm not allowed to go into the kitchen, could someone tell me what's in there?"

Hachi answers, "It's just a standard kitchen. Oh, but there's also a pantry that's filled with snacks. And a walk-in freezer with a bunch of shelves and a whole container filled with ice cream buckets!"

A walk-in freezer? "Is that what's behind that metal door?"

"Yup yup!" Hachi nods. "It's super chilly but my bee stuff kept me nice and warm!"

"Really? Looks kinda thin from this angle." Joshua leans over to take a better look.

She scoots her chair away from him. "No! It's super warm and toasty and that's that."

Raising up his hands and leaning between them, Michio says, "Hey, I'll believe it. Hachi definitely knows her stuff best. Plus, it's really cute."

"Aw, thank you." She blushes.

Shizu is getting tired of standing, and, when Samia takes a seat at the table, Shizu follows suit. "Might I ask what you have planned for this meeting, Michio?"

He gives her a thumbs up. "Sure thing. First things first, I wanted to hear about what everyone found. Different people might pick up on different things."

Joshua gives a lazy shrug and leans back in his chair. "I was too lazy to check things out, so that's all I'm here for."

"I don't think Soraru's done looking around either, so you're not totally alone," Michio states. "But the next thing I wanted was to hear about how everyone got captured."

Hachi chokes on her graham cracker, and Joshua leans a little too far back, flails about for a bit, but manages to keep his balance.

Michio looks at them sympathetically. "Sorry guys, but we can't keep ignoring it." He takes a deep breath and finishes up. "The last thing we should do is set up some kind of routine. That way, we can make sure everyone's alright. Does that sound good?"

"Fine by me," Shizu agrees.

Samia nods her head in assent. Joshua gives a shaky thumbs up. Hachi seems a bit conflicted, mostly likely about that second part, but gives in and agrees.

It doesn't take long for everyone else to show up. First up, Pal walks in, guiding an eager Kaixi and an irritated Chouki. Despite his attitude, he does sit at the table, right next to Pal. Not long after this, Kogi makes his way inside. For a moment, it looks like he's going to set at a corner table, but he changes his mind and joins the rest of them. Another short minute passes, and then Takumi gets pushed into the dining room by Kazuha and Sawako. He glares at them but takes his seat regardless. That display is followed by Morgan and Tsubame, who make much less of a fuss. Somewhere in all of that mess, Fumika had already taken her seat without Shizu noticing. Once Michio sees everyone else, he calls into the kitchen for Soraru to join them. Xe comes out reluctantly, under the condition that xe can leave once the timer xe set starts beeping. The meeting can finally begin.

Michio stands up, clears his throat, and, after everyone has quieted down, gets things going. "Okay, okay! Thanks everyone for coming together. I trust that you've all had a good look around, right?" There are several noises of affirmations and nods, so he continues. "Good. This is a long shot, but did anyone find anything that might help us escape?"

This time, there is only silence. Eventually, Sawako announces, "We found a great deal of tools in the storage room, so, in theory, we could use those to break out."

"What are we going to do, saw through the walls? How do you expect us to get through solid metal?" Chouki scoffs.

Kaixi snaps his fingers. "Oh! What if we use the tools to break through some of the bars? They seem thin enough."

"Um… What about the rules?" Kazuha runs toys with the front of her baseball cap. "I want everyone to escape but not if it means that someone gets hurt."

"If we knew where the exit was, we could focus our efforts on that area and flee before Monokuma has time to punish us," Fumika says, only to immediately bring up the problem. "However, we don't have any way of knowing that. I attempted to see what was beyond the bars but to no avail. I could see nothing but more hallways."

"The storage room's a bust, big deal. What about everywhere else?" Soraru slams xer hands on the table for emphasis.

Chouki shakes his head. "The lounge is a dead end too."

"We… considered using the… fireplace… as an escape route. This was… impossible… because the fireplace… was electric," Pal concludes sadly.

Not wanting to be left out, Kaixi comments, "Y-yeah, the connection to the ceiling is only for aesthetic purposes. It's completely solid."

"What about everywhere else?" Joshua asks.

"That's it," Fumika states bluntly.

He does a double take. "Really?"

Shizu adjusts her glasses. "Unfortunately, those are the only two areas, other than this room and the briefing room, that are available to us."

"What about in the kitchen?" Samia ponders, but Soraru cuts her down instantly.

"Nuh uh!" xe declares. "I've been in there all day, so I'd know if there was a secret passage hidden there. And before you ask, I checked the freezer and the pantry too!" Xe sticks out xer tongue.

"Y-you couldn't have searched the freezer that well…" Takumi mutters. "It has to be freezing cold in there, and you probably ran back out after a few seconds."

"Huh?" Soraru draws out the syllable. "Did you say something really mean or was that just your bag crumpling around your face?"

Takumi clenches his hands into fists, but Michio clears his throat again hastily. "Okay then, sounds like there isn't any easy escape. I honestly expect that to be the case, but you never know." He pauses in case anyone has any last minute interjection, but he's met with silence. Thus, he continues. "Next item on the table… There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going for it. What does everyone remember about being taken here?"

The silence from before becomes ice cold in an instant. Nobody wants to meet anyone else's eyes. Michio tries again. "It's something we've all tried to ignore, I know, but do you guys really think that's going to help? I know I'm still freaked out about before assaulted by a bunch of masked guys late at night, so I get it. I really do. But how else can we figure out what happened?"

Suddenly, something in the kitchen starts beeping. "Oh, would you look at that? My cake's done! Too bad, I guess I can't talk about randomly waking up here, so sorry. Gotta make Big Brother happy and get the cake before it burns. Oh well. Have fun!" Nobody has any time to process Soraru's word avalanche before xe's zipped off into the kitchen.

Pal is the brave soul who chooses to answer Michio's question. "I understand… but what can you hope… to gain from our stories? I was… whisked away… while I slumbered. There is… nothing more I can tell you."

"Y-yeah, w-what're you trying to do, making remember something like that?! You think I want to remember some guy breaking into my house in the middle of the night?" Takumi shouts.

"You were actually awake?" Hachi asks, her eyes wide. "I-I only remember waking up in my room! I thought they grabbed me when I was sleeping."

"It's the same for me," Kaixi adds. "One minute, sleeptown. The next, here I am."

Takumi grabs his bag with both hands. "That's completely unfair! I had a guy physically restrain me and use drugs to make me unconscious. Why did I have to be so unlucky?"

"Truthfully, the same occurred for me. It took several people to pin me down, but I was also attacked and subdued," Sawako claims.

It takes a while for everyone to sort out their stories, but they generally fall into two camps. Most people, such as Tsubame, Morgan, and Pal, were abducted in their sleep. A select few, namely Michio, Sawako, and Takumi, saw their attackers but were unable to successfully fight back. There is little rhyme or reason to the attacks, and nobody can quite remember the day that they were taken. So, getting a timeline of the events leading up to this game is currently impossible.

Though that idea led nowhere, Michio is slightly more confident in his final topic. "The last thing I wanted to talk about was setting up a meeting time. It's just a way for us all to get together every day."

At this moment, Soraru comes back outside, holding a large chocolate cake, decorated with white icing and a picture of a red rose on top, in one hand. In the other, xe holds a stack of plates. It's almost impressive to watch xem carry both with ease. "Here we are! I'd have made it fancier, but you all sounded super impatient, so I rushed it! Dig in."

"Thank you, little lady." Michio winks at xem.

Soraru keeps xer smile but xer expression is flat. "Nope, try again."

He looks confused. "Huh?"

"Wrong gender, try again," xe repeats, placing the cake in the middle of the table.

"Oh shit, really? My bad… uh…" he frantically searches his brain.

Shizu takes pity on him. "Agender. Xe/xem pronouns," she supplies.

"Ugh, yeah, I'm sorry Soraru," Michio apologizes profusely.

Xe distributes the plates and says in a singsong voice, "Just don't let it happen again. Big Brother wouldn't like that at all."

While this exchange goes on, a few people look uneasily at the cake, like it's a snake that might snap at them at any minute. Perhaps they're worried it's poisoned. Joshua, however, has no such reservations, and immediately starts chowing down on a large slice. The fact that he hasn't keeled over and that Soraru also grabs one is enough to convince the others to dig in as well.

Morgan returns them to the original topic, proposed by Michio. "Would it not be best to meet together around 8 a.m. for breakfast? I know that most of us desire to eat and will naturally be present in the dining hall for that reason."

"That's way too early," Joshua complains, though his words are muffled by cake chewing.

"I too… take some time… to get myself ready… each morning. Could a later time… work better?" Pal questions.

Shizu takes charge. "However, we should still try to meet for breakfast. The start of the day is the best time to meet, as any conflicts of the previous day will have had time to cool down. Will 8:30 still be too early? An extra thirty minutes may not sound like much, but it can work wonders. It also comes after the morning announcement, which should wake everyone up."

Pal approves of her suggestion. "That time… is acceptable for me."

"I've got no issues," Fumika states, and several others agree.

"If I have to…" Takumi mutters.

"I normally get up way later, but, if everyone else wants it, I can't so no. Especially not after you've tried to accommodate me," Joshua concedes.

"It is settled then. We will all have breakfast together at 8:30 each day. That wraps up everything I wanted to talk about." Michio then opens up the discussion to the others. "Is there anything you all want to bring up before we break?"

Takumi speaks up before someone else can. "We still can't get into our rooms. Where are we supposed to sleep?!"

Tsubame begins, "Worse comes to worst, there are beds in the storage room. If we need to build-"

"Try climbing on your door some more. I got a real kick out of that!"

The dining room is filled with screams and the sounds of people choking on cake as Monokuma appears out of thin air.

"Where the hell-?" Fumika leaps out of her chair and stands on the defensive.

"Whoa, whoa, what's with the negative reception?" Monokuma laughs. "I thought you guys wanted your room keys." He extends a paw. In its grasp, there are a bunch of card keys.

Takumi darts towards him, but Monokuma shifts to hold them behind his back. "Hold your horses! Lemme explain your rooms first!" He waits for Takumi to back up before he explains, "Each card has one of your names on it, and it works with your specific room. They won't work on any others, so don't lose them. Otherwise, you'll lose access completely! And one more thing. I've made sure that your rooms are nice and soundproof. That way, you don't distracted by any goings-on in the hallways. If you really need to get someone's attention, try the doorbell. I've turned the power back on, so you've got no excuses anymore. That's all. Enjoy!"

He fans out their keys again. Takumi grabs his first and is out the door before anyone else can get theirs. People crowd around the bear, making it a hassle for Shizu to get close. Luckily for her, Kazuha apparently found hers and reaches over to give it to its owner. Shizu gives a wordless thank you to her, and, after getting a wide smile in return, makes her way outside.

She doesn't wait for anyone else before boarding the elevator. At this time in the day, getting back to her room sounds like a dream come true.

At long last, she's back in front of her door. When she swipes her card, there's a clicking sound, and she pushes her door open. A few moments later, it locks again. Before she closes it completely, she tests the doorbell. It appears to sound both outside her room and inside, meaning that Monokuma was true to his word.

Shizu flops down on her bed, relishing the feeling of sinking into the mattress. The day was horrible, no sugar coating it. Being trapped in such a lifeless building, forced to kill or be killed, and being stuck with some of these people… It's a wonder that she's still functioning.

At least she has this room to comfort her for the foreseeable future. Her eyes start to close, and she snuggles into the soft sheets. Then, she forces herself awake.

…She should probably take a shower before dozing off.

* * *

 _Shizu's Notes_

 _Rules_

 _\- Violence against Monokuma is explicitly forbidden._

 _\- We are not allowed to force our way past any areas marked with Monokuma's face._

 _\- Nighttime begins at 12 am and ends at 8 am. Announcements will be made at both times._

 _\- Punishments vary in severity._

 _\- Monokuma may change the rules at any time._

 _\- In order to win the game, we must kill someone without anyone else figuring out that we are the culprit_

 _4_ _th_ _Floor_

 _\- Rooms: Shizu, Tsubame, Michio, Kazuha, Sawako_

 _\- All other areas barred off_

 _3_ _rd_ _Floor_

 _\- Rooms: Hachi, Fumika, Takumi, Soraru, Kogi_

 _\- Lounge, for relaxation, includes electric fireplace and fish tank_

 _\- Storage Room, many boxes with building supplies, furniture parts, and other odds and ends_

 _\- All other areas barred off_

 _2_ _nd_ _Floor_

 _\- Rooms: Morgan, Kaixi, Chouki, Pal, Samia, Joshua_

 _\- Dining Room, just has tables and chairs for eating together_

 _\- Kitchen, includes devices for cooking, cupboards, and a fridge_

 _\- Pantry, connected to kitchen, stores most of the food (haven't investigated yet, but don't anticipate having much to look at)_

 _\- Freezer, connected to kitchen, stores food that must be kept frozen (haven't investigated yet, but don't anticipate having much to look at)_

 _\- Briefing Room, includes raised platform and chairs for audience, good for announcements or possible performances_

 _\- Laundry Room, currently blocked_

 _\- Infirmary, currently blocked_

 _Monokuma_

 _\- Robotic, cartoon-ish bear_

 _\- Claims to be the game master of the Ultimate Game_

 _\- Most likely made by the one behind our capture_

 _\- Advanced AI and sleek design imply our captors have money to spare_

 _\- Likely watching us all via hidden cameras, can appear at will, likely from multiple locations (perhaps able to block some off?)_

 _\- Playful and harsh attitude, do not underestimate_

 _Ultimate Game_

 _\- What is the purpose of having us kill each other? Symbolic?_

 _\- Don't want us dead necessarily, as we would have been killed rather than captured_

 _\- Most claim to be capture in sleep (could be lying), others claim to have been attacked (less common claim, perhaps holds more credence)_

 _\- Nobody claims to want to play along, hard to trust_

 _\- Lack of trust is currently main motivation to play along_

 _\- Need to keep an eye on others_

 _\- Need to be able to trust them_

* * *

 **Prologue: Game Start**

 **End**

 **16 Ultimates Remain**

* * *

A/N: This chapter took a very long time to get out, and I'm sorry if part of it feels rushed. It's also my longest chapter to date, so don't expect chapters this long pretty much ever. Hopefully, it was worth the wait, and maybe it answered a few questions you might have had. Honestly, I'm just glad that I got it out the door at all.

So, I kind of purposely didn't include every character in the last two chapters just to see if anyone would notice if one was missing. Just a little social experiment and totally not me forgetting about my own character. I think only two people caught it. In any case, now that we have our full cast, there is a poll on my profile about which characters you want to know more about. If you have the time, please vote in that poll! It might just get some characters a bit more screentime, so vote for your favorites! Or don't. I have no power over you or your choices.

Next time, we should get into the game proper, so stay tuned for that. It might take a bit to come out, though. Whatever the case, I hope you have a fantastic day!


	7. Chapter 1: A Different Kind of Prison 01

Beta Read by Lupus Overkill

* * *

Shizu's eyes shoot open. For a moment, she panics because of the comfortable bed she's found herself in. As the memories from yesterday come back, however, her heart rate slows down to an acceptable level. She reaches over and puts on her glasses. She's not one for resting in bed after waking up.

When she sits up and swings her legs over the side of her bed, she notices the monitor in her room. Yesterday, it was nothing more than a black screen after the announcement. Now, however, she can see the time displayed on it in a digital clock format. It's currently 7:34 AM, if she is to believe what Monokuma has set up for her.

She also notices a small book icon in the bottom left corner of the screen. Tapping on it brings up a menu displaying the rules they had heard yesterday. Well, at least they are somewhere for reference. She already has them written down in her notes, but it never hurts to have a backup plan.

The new display seems to be the only new thing in her room. Technically, she could rest up here until it's time for the morning meeting, but she's had enough with sitting still and waiting to last her a lifetime. There shouldn't be any harm getting breakfast early. After a quick wardrobe change and visit to the restroom, she exits her room.

All throughout her trip to the dining room, Shizu doesn't see a single soul. Nobody joins her in the elevator, and the only sounds echoing throughout the halls are those from her shoes on the tile. If anyone is awake, they must still be in their room.

When she actually arrives at the dining room, she's shocked to find a Monokuma face hanging on the doors. They were allowed inside yesterday, so what changed? Did they not clean up the mess from Soraru's cake yesterday? Well, she knows that she didn't help, at least. Oops.

"Hungry already?"

Shizu flinches at the sudden question. Looking over her shoulder, she sees Monokuma leaning against the wall with his left paw.

"…Somewhat, yes." He probably already knows that he startled her, but she's not going to give him the satisfaction of reacting. In the future, she's going to have to get used to him popping up whenever he feels like it. She should also figure out how exactly he's doing it.

"Well, you're just gonna have to wait," he laughs. "The dining hall is closed during nighttime. Sorry if that inconveniences you and your sudden food cravings!"

She ignores his bait. "Is there a particular reason why?"

Tilting his head and bringing a paw to his chin, he repeats her question. "Why?" He then shrugs. "What, do you want to slowly starve to death? I have to restock that place at some point you know!"

"And you can't do that when other people are also in the room, I suppose," she says.

"See? You really do understand me! We're going to be the best of friends," he cackles before running off to who knows where.

Shizu pinches her forehead. So, this is what he meant yesterday when he said certain areas would be off limits during certain times of the day. She should check out the other rooms later tonight in case the same holds true elsewhere. However, it is a bit strange that the dining room is what's blocked off. If Monokuma truly wanted to be alone when restocking, then the kitchen seems like the more logical choice. Perhaps he merely wants to inconvenience them all more.

Her thoughts are interrupted when she hears a chime echo throughout the hall. Then, from nowhere, she hears Monokuma's voice. "Good morning everyone! It's officially 8 AM, so let's greet the morning with a smile, shall we? That's all!"

That must have been the morning announcement. If she had to guess, it probably also played from the monitors in everyone's rooms, since their rooms are soundproofed. Thus, everyone else should either be waking up or be going through their own morning routines. Still, how were they going to get into the dining room if the symbol is still…

Huh… The Monokuma face is gone now. That's… odd. Did she somehow miss Monokuma taking it off when he was talking to her? No, that wouldn't be possible, since she was standing between him and the door the entire time. She taps on the spot where the symbol used to be and is shocked to discover that part of the door is a screen. She tests a random part of the door to confirm that the rest of it is wooden. How utterly bizarre. Monokuma has gone through the effort of integrating a tablet into the door. This does technically allow him to change the display for the face very quickly, but it feels very inefficient. Why bother getting a custom made door when a sign would do the trick?

While she could ponder this for a while longer, she would rather get started on breakfast. She pushes them open hesitantly, just in case the disappearing face was a glitch. However, there is no punishment waiting for her. Going into the kitchen itself, she thinks for a moment about what to eat. Then, she remembers that she hasn't technically investigated the pantry or the freezer yet. No time like the present.

She starts with the walk-in freezer and is immediately hit with a wave of chilled air upon pulling the metal door open. It's a bit small compared to the other rooms, but it has way more storage space than a typical household freezer. The walls are lined with shelves, each stocked with frozen goods, like vegetables, meats, and boxes of other foods whose labels she cannot see from the entrance. At the far back wall, there's a container lying on the floor. She's reluctant to step further inside but moves there in the name of research. Opening the top, she finds that it's stocked with all sorts of frozen desserts, like ice cream and popsicles. She vaguely remembers Hachi mentioning this yesterday.

Nothing in the freezer looks too appetizing right now, so she rushes to check out the pantry. It takes a moment for her teeth to stop chattering, but she eventually takes inventory. It's a little bigger than the freezer, yet it looks fairly similar. Once again, shelves line the walls, though this time they're stocked with fruit, snack foods, cereals, and other dry foods. There is something that sticks out from everything else, however. Instead of a container in the back, she sees another door. Did nobody think that this was important to mention or something? She rushes over, pulls it open, and finds…

…a cleaning closet. It has a broom, a mop, a shelf stacked with cleaning supplies and a bunch of rolled up towels, and a bag of washcloths. There's nothing too major, all things considered. None of the labels indicate things being too toxic. Still, somebody should have spoken up.

Shizu's stomach growls at her, cutting her thoughts short. She closes the closet door and looks for something appealing. In the end, convenience rules out, and she grabs a nearby cereal box. It isn't the healthiest, but, after prison food, she doesn't care. That cake yesterday might have spoiled her taste buds a bit, so hopefully this still tastes good.

Right as she steps out of the pantry, Takumi enters the kitchen from the dining room.

"…Good morning," she greets.

At the same time, he says, "Huh? What are you doing up?"

She chooses to answer his question as she opens up the cabinets to look for a bowl. "Preparing some cereal. Is that going to be a problem?"

His bag crinkles when he shakes his head. "…No, not really. Just planned on eating alone…"

He stands still while he watches her move to the fridge for some milk. Her presence alone must be making him nervous, so she speeds up her task. Once she gets a spoon from a drawer, she makes for the door where he's frozen in place. "Is this going to be a problem? Should I eat in my room?" she asks.

It takes a moment for him to respond. "I'm gonna stick around for the meeting anyways. Might as well suck this up." He finally steps out of the way.

For a good while, she sits alone, lazily chewing on her cereal. She's in no rush after all. A few minutes later, Takumi comes out, also holding a bowl of cereal. He takes a seat that's a good distance away from her, but, knowing his personality, she's not insulted. It's lucky that his bag has a mouth hole, so that he doesn't have to take it off to eat.

He really doesn't seem in the mood for conversation, so she is fine with keeping things silent. Then again, he's never sounded like he's wanted to talk. Like it or not, she would eventually need to confront him. For now, that can wait.

As it gets closer to 8:30, more and more people trickle in. Some people, like Sawako and Kaixi, show no signs of exhaustion. Morgan, in particular, shows up both early and with no perceivable mistakes with her makeup. Others, such as Chouki and Samia, appear to have had a rough night. Still, they show up. When she goes into the kitchen to put away her dishes and walks back out, the table is nearly full. There's only one person missing from the group.

"Has anybody seen Joshua today?" Michio asks, taking a bite out of a piece of toast immediately after.

Most people are still focusing on their breakfast, but the few who respond shake their heads. Michio exhales with a mixture of both annoyance and worry.

Sawako stands up and announces, "I will go to his room and bring him here. If anything important comes up, please inform me when I return." She salutes the others and marches out of the room.

It is clear that most people don't want to talk, judging by the lack of responses previously, but it appears that Michio has more on his mind. He clears his throat, but only a few people look over to him. He repeats this louder, finally getting everyone's attention. "Uh… Good morning everyone! I hope you all slept okay."

"As well as I could have, considering everything that's going on," Samia deadpans.

Kaixi has a more positive outlook. "Well, um… I slept really great, and I hope you all slept great too!"

"Which answer will make you stop talking faster?" Soraru's tone is innocent despite xer words. "Asking for a friend."

"Both are equally fast." Michio takes the sarcasm in stride, laughing a little. Sensing potential impatience, he gets to the point. "I don't want to keep you all here for too long, and I personally don't have any big announcements to make. But I wanted to know if anyone else had something they wanted to say. For the most part, there's not much we can do for now, other than think of ways to escape or wait for more rooms to open up. Otherwise, I'm guessing we'll all go our separate ways."

He's met with complete silence. Each person scans the others' faces to see if someone wants to speak up, but nobody does.

"That's about what I thought. In that case, I'll shut up and let you get back to your food. Let's all make the best of this day." Michio smiles widely and then returns to his toast.

Sawako returns alone around the time most people are finishing up. She salutes again and states, "I apologize, but I was unable to locate Joshua. I attempted to call him outside by ringing his doorbell but to no avail. Either he is able to sleep through anything or he is not in his room."

"Maybe he ditched the meeting," Chouki mutters while stabbing an orange slice with his fork.

Kazuha rapidly shakes her head. "No way! I'm sure he's just a slow riser. He did show up late yesterday too. We should give him a chance to adjust to this new sleep pattern."

"We can ask him later," Shizu says. Then, she stands up. It's kind of awkward to sit around and watch people eat in silence, so she's a bit eager to get out of here. "I have some business to take care of, so I'm heading out. If anybody needs me later, it shouldn't be too hard to locate me. This building may be tall, but there aren't too many rooms."

Sawako holds out a hand. "Shizu-", she begins.

"I know," Shizu replies.

When she steps outside, she can faintly hear someone asking, "What the heck was that about?"

Truthfully, there isn't much left for her to examine, since she did most of that yesterday. Of course, there is always the possibility of secret passageways between rooms or even floors, but she wouldn't even know where to start looking for them. Perhaps she should check all of the blocked off rooms to see if any of them unlocked. However, what she should really be doing is…

She loses her train of thought when Joshua almost collides with her. "Whoa there!" he shouts. "Sorry 'bout that. Almost hit you."

"You missed the meeting." She's not exactly accusing him, but her flat tone causes him to wince.

It doesn't stop his carefree smile though. "Yeah, that's my bad. Totally overslept again!"

"You didn't hear someone ringing your doorbell earlier?" She raises an eyebrow at him.

He shrugs. "Nope. That's not that surprising all things considered. I can sleep through just about anything if I want to. Hell, I slept through a tornado once. Went right past my room, but I didn't even roll over."

That's definitely sounds like a lie, but, if he's not exaggerating, then it is going to be a major problem in the future. Actually, now that she thinks about it, running into him is actually a blessing in disguise. She needs to get to know everyone as quickly as possible, and this is a prime opportunity. "That may be the case, but I hope you can sort out this problem quickly. It would not do to have you continually miss morning meetings."

Joshua is actually starting to look ashamed of himself, scratching the back of his neck and averting his eyes. "Ugh, yeah, I know. But it's not that easy to wake yourself up! At least not for me, that is."

"You will have to put in the effort," Shizu emphasizes, "Or else you may start placing suspicion upon yourself. The others may suspect that you, in fact, are spending your time elsewhere and that you are unworthy of trust."

"Isn't that going to happen anyways?" he asks matter-of-factly.

"Hmm?"

Seeing her confusion, he clarifies. "I mean, even if I do get there in time every day, everyone's eventually going to start being suspicious of me and of everyone else."

"You are referring to the Ultimate Game."

"Huh? That's what this is called?" Joshua slaps his head. "Okay, right, not the time for that. But yeah, this whole… thing. You can't honestly think that we'll really be able to form bonds with others when they're all worried about… well, you know."

Shizu adjusts her glasses. "I didn't take you for the kind of person who would think in that manner."

He laughs cheerfully. "Hey, what can I say? I'm pretty well versed in the parasocial, so I'm super skeptical about friendships."

She scratches her chin. "Parasocial… I've heard the word, but I can't remember the definition. If you wouldn't mind…"

"Oh, sure. It's not often I get to show off like this." His smile grows, and he adjusts his beanie before beginning his explanation. "So, let's say that you're really active on Twitter. You're posting stuff all the time, replying to a bunch of comments, and basically amassing a following there. Over time, you've picked up a decent number of loyal followers, all of whom are really interested about your life. Following me so far?"

She confirms this, although her eyes are glued to her notepad. "I am, though I have never been active on any social media platform. I will have to take your word for this."

He looks taken aback. "Wait, really? I figured everyone under the age of forty basically lived online… Whelp, it's too late for me to think of a better example." He clicks his tongue and continues, "Anyways, one day, you get a DM, err… 'direct message'-"

"I'm not that socially illiterate," she interjects.

"Right, sorry. Erm… Okay, so you get a DM from someone that you can't remember talking to ever. And, lo and behold, it's someone declaring their undying love for you! Isn't that sweet?"

She actually hisses at him. "What?! No, of course not! That's creepy and disgusting."

"Of course it is!" That was apparently the answer he was looking for. "You've never met this person, yet they clearly feel comfortable enough to think that you'd be comfortable dating them. No, not just comfortable, they think that you'd be happy! Isn't that weird?"

"I'm guessing this is what you mean by parasocial." She ignores his question.

He nods. "Yup, you've got it right there. This person hasn't ever had a meaningful conversation with you, yet they're privy to details about your life or your thoughts or even just your physical appearance. There is no relationship between the two of you except entertainer and audience member. The illusionary, one-sided relationship… That is textbook example of a parasocial relationship."

"I see… You sound very familiar with this topic. If I may hazard a guess, you've had issues with this in the past, correct?" She taps her pen against her notepad, leaving a little mark at the top of the page.

He snaps into a thumbs up. "You're really on a roll today, huh? I've had my fair share of parasocial nightmares in the past. It's all part of being the Ultimate Video Blogger, after all. With a title like that, you can imagine that I had a pretty big audience. And more than a few problem audience members as well."

"A rabid fan base that views you as a personal friend… I can hardly imagine that amount of stalkers you had to deal with." She shudders at the thought.

"You don't even know the half of it. Didn't matter how much I moved around. Someone would eventually find my address, and then they'd show up at my door, expecting me to be pleased and invite them inside. Glad I haven't had to deal with that in a while…" Joshua may be chuckling about all of this now, but his eyes look tired.

Shizu contemplates everything that he's brought up. "That was a very enlightening explanation. I do not mean to belittle what you went through, but I believe that the situation is slightly different from the ones you have experienced."

He raises an eyebrow. "Really now?"

"Parasocial relationships, if I have understood correctly, are one-sided relationships. However, I do not believe that any relationships built here can be one-sided. After all, we have the ability physically interact with each other, the ability to hold actual conversations with each other. Doesn't that necessitate an actual relationship?"

"Yeah, maybe," he states. "But can you really trust them not to lie or something? Like, couldn't they be faking who they are or how they feel entirely? Then, it would be one-sided because we'd have no idea about their true intentions."

Shizu shakes her head. "That is something we risk whenever we try to become friends with someone. Though the chances of something such as that happening are much greater here than in ordinary life, I don't think that means we need to fear that everyone is being fake."

"Heh…" Joshua chuckles. "You're only just now hearing about this, but you've already put so much thought into it. Guess this'll teach me to steal all of my ideas from videos and put zero extra thought into them." He sticks out his tongue.

At that moment, Shizu hears a set of footsteps approaching. She'd nearly forgotten that she had been standing in the hallway leading to the second floor dorms. Pal and Morgan walk into view..

Morgan greets them first. "Ah, Shizu and Joshua. I had a feeling we would find you both here."

"Ooooh, a supernatural feeling, right?" Joshua's eyes light up. Morgan merely gives a knowing look.

"We were… worried since… you were not present… at breakfast." Pal claims, clasping his hands together. "I was concerned… for your wellbeing."

Joshua waves him off. "Thanks buddy, but I was just sleeping. A sleeping Joshua is a happy Joshua, so I'm definitely doing well."

"I am grateful… to hear that." He pauses when Joshua's stomach growls. "It appears that… the siren song of sleep… has been replaced by… one of hunger."

"Even if the rest of us have eaten already, you should get something. Though nighttime is a long time away, I should mention that the dining hall is closed during that time, so you don't want to wait around for too long," Shizu explains.

"That is the reason we came looking for you." Morgan then extends the offer. "If you would like the company, we would be happy to sit with you during your meal." Shizu notes to herself that she shouldn't speak for Pal, but, first, Pal seems like the kind of person who would enjoy anyone's company, and, secondly, she already knows what Morgan's response would be.

"Sounds great!" Joshua cheers, his stomach rumbling again.

"I would ask you to come as well, but I already know your answer," Morgan addresses Shizu with an infuriating smile on her face. …Maybe it is only infuriating to her.

"…I do have something important to be getting to any moment now," she reluctantly admits, refusing to look at Morgan's face. "Enjoy your meal."

Joshua gives her a double thumbs up. "Thanks for the conversation! It was pretty interesting. Gave me a lot to think about, at least." When his stomach gives off its loudest growl yet, he waves farewell and makes for the dining room, with Morgan not far behind him.

"I wish you luck… on your quest." With that, Pal walks away as well, leaving her all alone in the hallway.

* * *

 _Conversation with Joshua Miller (1)_

 _\- Continues to claim that he is a deep sleeper, to nearly impossible levels_

 _\- Carefree attitude hides his apparent trust issues, perhaps either an act or no longer cares enough to worry about trusting others_

 _\- Has knowledge of parasocial relationships, which are one-sided relationships that viewers create with their favorite media personalities_

 _\- Dealt with overzealous fans in the past_

 _\- Claims not to be too knowledgeable or to have put much thought into parasocial, but talked for long enough that this seems false (tricking self? hiding true skills?)_

* * *

That talk ate up more time than she expected. At least, she thinks it did. There aren't any clocks in the hallway, so she has to rely on her own gut feelings. That being said, her internal clock hasn't led her astray many times before. She doesn't exactly remember what time Sawako wanted to talk with her, but this seems like as good a time as any to head to the storage room. She can personally investigate the boxes there while she waits for the… police officer to arrive. With that plan in mind, she heads for her destination.

As she gets closer to the storage room, she thinks something coming from inside. It's not particularly loud, so it's probably not an argument. Actually, it sounds like someone is rummaging around through a box. Peering into the room, she finds Kogi standing on a ladder, reaching into a box from the construction section.

Shizu takes a deep breath and forces herself to speak. "…Is there something in particular you're looking for?"

Not halting his search in the slightest, Kogi says, "No."

…That was unhelpful. "So, you're looking through those boxes for no reason?"

"No, I'm just not looking for anything specific," he replies, as if that were obvious.

"You do realize that these boxes are labeled, correct? Or do you distrust the labels?" she pries.

He takes the time to look at her after that particular comment. "Don't think that "hammer" is descriptive enough."

Sawako chooses that instant to walk into the storage room. She smiles when she sees Shizu, but it becomes strained when she notices Kogi's presence on the ladder. "Oh… Hello, Shizu and… Kogi. I trust you are both keeping out of trouble."

Shizu only has the fortitude to nod in response. Kogi replies with a casual "Yep".

"That is good." Sawako stops there, seemingly unsure about how to continue. There's something in her eyes that looks… distressed or perhaps nervous? It certainly doesn't read as suspicion, which would have been Shizu's first guess.

Kogi's rummaging is the only sound that breaks the simultaneously tense and awkward atmosphere. Sawako keeps looking at Shizu pleadingly for some reason. Police officers relying on her plans… that is not something she wants to remember. Still, neither of them will get anywhere without doing something.

Shizu settles for the truth, though only after long, internal deliberation. "…Kogi, if it would not be too much trouble, could you leave us alone for a while?"

Kogi looks over his shoulder. "Can't you go somewhere else?"

Sawako shakes her head rapidly, and Shizu signs. "Unfortunately, no."

Giving in, he climbs down the ladder. "Sounds like you're the one searching for something then. Good luck finding it." He's already out the door before she can ponder his words.

Sawako lets out the breath she was holding in and slouches slightly. Almost instantly, however, she's standing straight again. "I am very sorry for pushing the burden onto you. That was completely unprofessional of me, and I should not have done it."

Well, that's one problem out of the way at least. Shizu feels her throat release, like a snake had been strangling her and only now was she free of its constriction. "…Don't worry about it. Let's just get down to business. You had something you wanted to say, correct?"

Sawako nods quickly. "That is correct. I am in need of your strategist expertise. As you have most likely surmised, I wished to consult with you about the contents of this storage room. I believe you are already aware of the general contents of these boxes."

"The three main categories are construction, furniture, and decoration, if I remember correctly," Shizu answers.

"That is the basics of what is stored here," Sawako confirms. "However, I am concerned about some of this. The construction materials and furniture in particular are troublesome. With those tools available, anyone could theoretically use them for harm. For instance, someone could use them to set up a trap, either for killing or for restricting where people can go. In addition to this, they could use the tools to break into areas they are not supposed to. They may potentially try to break the rules by smashing through the bars or doors on the second floor. They could also break into one of our rooms while we slumber. Finally, the furniture parts and blueprints give them even more materials with which to work. We have no guarantee that the furniture parts will be used for their intended purpose."

…Whoa.

Clearly, Sawako has put a lot of thought into this. Shizu actually feels ashamed for not going this much in depth in her own notes. However, as she takes the time to analyze Sawako's fears, she starts getting a clearer picture in her head. She slowly responds, "I… see. From your tone, I'm guessing that you wish to do something about this."

Sawako nods, her expression darkening. "I believe it would be in our best interests to block off this room by whatever means necessary. Perhaps we could use the wooden planks to block off the doorway, thus preventing anyone from accessing it."

"Hold on." Shizu holds out her hand to stop her. "I have several issues with this idea. First, I don't think it wise to stop people from coming here. There are sure to be people who simply wish to decorate the rooms or the hallway in some manner. Should we punish those people as well as everyone else?"

"That would be unfortunate, but it is a small price to pay for keeping everyone safe," Sawako rebuts.

Shizu argues right back. "Think about the psychological impact, though. Surely they will get anxious if they see one of the few areas they had access to block off. That will increase the tension here, and suspicions might rapidly get out of hand."

"However, they will have less of an ability to act upon those suspicions if they cannot access this room." Sawako refuses to back down.

Sensing a dead end, Shizu shifts the topic. "That isn't my only issue either. I have my doubts that we could effectively seal off the storage room. Even if we did decide to physically block the entrance, that alone would not stop someone who is desperate. There are enough objects in the rest of the building which they could use to smash through our barricade."

"Your argument makes no sense. If you are using the fact that people break rules to argue that we should have no rules…" Sawako begins.

Shizu cuts her off. "That isn't the issue. My point is that it would be ineffective. It's a rule that can only be enforced when someone is actively keeping watch, and we physically do not have the ability to keep watch without putting ourselves in danger." She sees Sawako about to speak up, so she talks louder. "Finally, and most importantly, if all of that did not convince you, there is a very big reason why that would not work. Even if we somehow constructed a barrier that nobody here could break down, that would not stop Monokuma. He has set up a game which revolves around murder. He has made this room open, and I am certain he will make sure it stays that way."

Her speech finished, Shizu takes several large breaths, gasping for air. Some of that probably came out harsher than she intended it to. She looks up and sees Sawako looking at her with worry. "Are you quite alright?" She looks like she wants to comfort her, but Shizu holds up a finger.

"I'm fine. More importantly, does that answer your question?"

Sawako nods. "I'm afraid I have misjudged the situation. Thank you very much for your thoughts. It appears we can do little about this room. I apologize for jumping to such an extreme solution, but it was the only one I could think of. Monitoring the supplies in this room is out of the question." She waves her hand to indicate all of the boxes. "There is simply too much for anyone to keep track of. That is most likely Monokuma's intention. By giving us so much to work with, we would never notice if something went missing."

"…Don't put yourself down. You've put quite a lot of thought into how to keep everyone safe, even if it didn't bear any fruits," Shizu tries to comfort her.

Despite the poor attempt, Sawako brightens considerably. "It is no trouble at all. It is my duty as a riot police officer to keep everyone safe. On or off duty, I have a responsibility to protect."

Shizu is unable to hide her grimace.

Sawako smiles at her. "I have avoided bringing it up, but you do not appear to like me very much. Perhaps it is because of my talent… Am I correct in assuming that you are not fond of law enforcement?"

"…Yes," she admits. "You mentioned that you protect, but…" She trails off.

"It is only natural you would have your doubts. I have been in the force for too long to say otherwise. However, I hope you will give me a chance to show my dedication to helping the innocent." Sawako straightens her back even further and gives a trademarked salute.

"…We shall see."

Undeterred by her attitude, Sawako finishes. "I am grateful that you assisted me despite your reservations. If you wish to leave now, I will not stop you. You have done so much already."

Explicit permission has been granted. Shizu walks out of the storage room without saying goodbye. The conversation was enlightening, but it brought back a lot of bad memories… At the very least, she hopes that she's learned from that last time. Sawako seems nice enough, but still…

* * *

 _Conversation with Sawako Kido (1)_

 _\- Views storage room as a safety hazard, thought best course of action was to block it off entirely_

 _\- Respects(?) my strategist skills (no)_

 _\- Clearly thinks a lot about safety, willing to admit when she is wrong, though it may take some effort_

 _\- Claims to always be on duty and to desire to protect_

 _\- Who decides who is innocent?_

* * *

Shizu is still deep in thought when she passes by the lounge. Kaixi's voice calls out to her from inside, "Hey Shizu! What's up?"

"Nothing much. Just thinking," she answers. Looking inside, she sees him sitting on the couch, along with Hachi and Samia. Tsubame is there as well, though she is sitting in one of the chairs, despite the fact that there's room on the couch.

"You should join us! We're talking about some of Kaixi's shots!" Hachi calls.

Kaixi stares at his feet shyly. "Heh, well, they're not that great, you know. Plus, there used to be a lot of bad shots in there, but I already deleted them. So, they're post-filtered."

"You should stop downplaying your skills," Samia chides. "Your pictures are nice. Just accept the compliment. There's point where being humble gets to be kind of annoying."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" He holds his hands up in surrender. "I didn't mean to…" He realizes what he's saying and tries to backtrack. "Um… that is… I uh… thanks?"

Hachi laughs. "It's okay! We'll help you get better by showering you with losta compliments!"

Shizu interrupts. "If it's no trouble, might I have a look at what you've taken pictures of?"

"Sure, go right ahead! But, uh, please be careful with my camera. Not that I think you wouldn't, but it's an important disclaimer." He passes her his camera delicately.

Shizu looks at the first photo on display. It appears to have been taken as he was walking into the briefing room. Kazuha is sitting in the middle of the room, staring curiously into the lens. "This is the first photo?" She asks.

"Yeah," he confirms. "Is it… uh… Is it okay?"

Tsubame supplements his comment. "If you're wondering about all of the possible previous photographs, there aren't any."

Kaixi snaps his fingers. "Oh, right! I had some other stuff on there, but, when I woke up here, everything got deleted."

Shizu moves on to the next picture, which is of Morgan walking into the briefing room. She's almost jealous of how photogenic she is, a smile plastered on her face, looking off camera mysteriously… She shakes her head. "Are you sure that this is your camera? Perhaps they got rid of yours and replaced it with a new one."

"No way, I've had this one for a little while now. I can see the places where I normally grip it," he denies her claim.

The next picture is of Kogi power walking. As she notes how, even for a scene that she's technically already seen before, the action and positioning is different, Samia says, "I still don't get why you're allowed to have your camera here. If the people who locked us up were so concerned about not giving you any pictures of stuff outside this building, why even bother letting you have it in the first place?"

"I bet they liked his photos so much that they wanted him to take even more here!" Hachi states proudly. Shizu is only half paying attention, having reached the picture of her, Michio, and Tsubame. The composition is nice, kind of like the cover of a game or movie, with the coroner as the star.

"It's not like they're ever going to get them," Samia counters. "Unless Monokuma's going into your room when you're sleeping and downloading the pictures…"

"I really hope not. That'd be super creepy." Shivering, Kaixi averts his eyes.

Shizu briefly glances at the picture of Chouki, arms crossed and brow furrowed. "It doesn't seem to be that much in character. Whenever I've seen him, he's been a complete ham. I doubt he has the ability to sneak around when he's in the presence of a potential victim."

"It might be… a sort of consolation prize?" Tsubame wonders. "Maybe they felt bad about sticking Kaixi in here, so they gave him something to occupy his mind."

"Oh, kind of like Shizu and her notepad, right?" Hachi stares at her with cheerful eyes. Shizu looks back at the camera, which shows Sawako dragging Takumi inside by the elbow.

"…I'm not sure what you mean," she lies. To distract herself, she advances to the next photo, which is of Samia.

Speaking of Samia, she scoffs. "Please Shizu. I've only known you for a day, and most of that time, you've been either staring into space or fiddling with your notes. It's not a bad thing by any stretch, but don't lie."

"I think it shows how thoughtful you are," Tsubame says, leaning forward slightly in her chair.

"It's kind of like taking pictures with words, if that makes any sense."

Quickly flipping past the picture of Soraru kicking the doors open with Hachi running behind xem with her arms outstretched, Shizu coughs and feels sweat fall down the back of her neck. "…Thank you." She attempts to distract herself with the next picture. Unfortunately, it's of her and Pal this time.

"But Kaixi, a picture's worth a thousand words!" Hachi giggles. "So you're, like, extra super noteworthy!"

"I uh… thanks," he settles on, blushing with the praise. Seeing Monokuma jumping up in the next photo upsets Shizu's stomach, so she passes the camera back to Kaixi but not before flipping it to one of Joshua rubbing his eyes.

"Thank you for sharing those, Kaixi. They were lovely," Shizu says.

He graciously accepts both her praise and his camera. "I did have a lot to work with, so I can't take all the credit." Samia fake-coughs, and he scrambles to appease her. "B-but thank you so much! I'm glad I can bring some comfort, at least."

Her stomach growls at her, causing the conversation to halt. She did only have a single bowl of cereal for breakfast, and it has been a good deal of time since she last ate. Perhaps she should go get something to eat.

The others hear her stomach as well, and it causes a bit of a chain reaction. In the end, it's Hachi who suggests that they all go get some dinner together. Nobody refuses, so they make their way down to the dining hall. Inside, Fumika is halfway through a plate of dumplings, though nobody else is there. She tenses up when she sees them all but has no quarrel keeping them company throughout dinner. Michio and Kazuha both show up a bit later as well, keeping the party going. Altogether, it's a fairly pleasant experience, though Shizu has little memory for small talk.

By the time that Shizu returns to her room, it is ten o'clock at night. Normally, she would be getting ready for bed at this moment, but she has some nighttime investigating to get done. Waiting a whole two hours doing nothing sounds like hell to her, so she goes through her bedtime routine, showering, brushing her teeth, and even changing into her pajamas. She still hates their design but comfort wins out in the end.

There's still a lot of time left even after all of this, so she simply relaxes in bed, checking her notes and adding some sections now that she's further removed from the situation. Truth be told, she feels as though she could lay here for hours on end, even if she was awake. The fluffy pillows, the comfortable mattress, the soft blankets… It all makes her feel content.

A chime startles her from her thoughts. How long has she been sitting here?

"Attention! It is now 12 AM, and nighttime has officially begun. Sweet dreams!"

She leaps from her bed and hurries her way down to the third floor. Going to check every room, she finds that nothing has changed. So, the storage room is open at night. That must mean that Monokuma isn't restocking it, at least not on a daily basis. It also means that anyone could go there without being detected, provided they were patient enough.

She moves down to the second floor and finds that things are also the same. So far, the restriction only appears to apply to the cafeteria. In particular, it also means that no rooms are night exclusive, for what that's worth.

Shizu yawns loudly and makes her way back to the elevator, her search complete. Suffice to say, she is not expecting to find Morgan standing in the elevator lobby, still in her day clothes.

"What are you doing here?" Normally, Shizu would be more tactful, but her sleepiness is starting to catch up with her.

Morgan answers, "I had a feeling I would find someone wandering these halls tonight. The spirits were quite clear about that. I merely wished to see who it was."

"That sounds dangerous," Shizu points out. "What if I was looking for somebody to attack? You would be a prime target, since you're all by yourself."

"I am not fated to die so easily," Morgan giggles, covering her mouth. Her silver bracelets and rings sparkle even in the dim light of the nighttime halls. "Surely you are not suggesting that you are planning a murder."

Shizu rolls her eyes. "Of course I'm not. Though you should already know what I'm doing."

"If you wish to throw shade upon my talent, you must put a bit more effort into your insinuation," Morgan says with an even tone.

"Let me try again then," Shizu says. "Please tell me exactly what I am doing at this time of night."

Morgan sighs. "If you insist." She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and puts her hands together in front of herself, almost as if she is praying. She mutters a few things under her breath that Shizu cannot hear. Then, after a few seconds, her purple eyes slowly reopen. "Please forgive the slight wait. I had not asked about this topic until now, so I needed to search. However, I believe I have found the answer."

Shizu plainly states, "That's fair. Please tell me then."

Clearing her throat, Morgan begins. "You were exploring these dark hallways in an attempt to find something. Of course, that something was not a person or a victim. After all, you are not willing to kill anyone, nor would you be aware of the fact that there would even be another soul awake in the middle of the night."

"You're correct so far. You are, in fact, very good at knowing what I am not doing. However, please get to the point." Shizu taps her foot impatiently.

"There is no need to hurry. Time will not bring me more answers," Morgan intones. It gives her more time to think of possibilities, technically, but saying that would only waste more time. "If you must know right away, you were experimenting with nighttime."

Shizu narrows her eyes. "…How so?"

"It is simple. You have been paying attention to the rules, correct? Specifically, the rule about time in the building," Morgan asks.

"I have," Shizu acknowledges, intentionally keeping her response brief. She is not going to give away any additional information, at least not with her words. Her body language, on the other hand, is not so easy to control. Perhaps that is why Morgan appears to be sizing her up.

"Then you remember how Monokuma mentioned changing the availability of certain rooms." Morgan smiles at her when she nods. "That is what you were searching for. You wished to see which rooms would be locked or opened up. Am I not correct?"

"No, you've got it," Shizu admits quietly.

Despite the positive result, Morgan's grin looks a little sad. "I see… Even though I was able to correctly discern your reason for being here, you still do not believe in my abilities. I will be frank with you. If a live demonstration does not convince you, I am not sure what will."

She's starting to feel a little guilty for being so judgmental. "I am a skeptic by nature. Fortune telling, magic, and the supernatural are all the same to me. There are alternative ways of explaining these things without resorting to spirits or psychic powers."

"I would appreciate not lumping me in with those other subjects, if you would not mind." Morgan's tone is a bit less mystical and a bit more biting with that statement.

That's… strange. "You do not believe in the supernatural?"

Morgan scoffs. "When you mention the supernatural, you are most assuredly referring to all of the hoaxes and scams that others have claimed to be true. However, my power is true. Putting the two in the same circle is not only incorrect, but it is also very insulting. Would you appreciate it if I claimed your talent was in the same field as an AI that could play chess?"

The two are loosely connected, but Shizu has a feeling that Morgan would not appreciate such an answer. Therefore, she instead says, "No, I suppose not."

Morgan appears satisfied. "Thank you. I know that you still doubt me, but that is no reason to be so hostile. Keeping an open mind is part of having good strategies, correct?"

"There is a limit to how much I can believe," Shizu claims.

"Of course," Morgan agrees. "I would never say otherwise. However, I have convinced many other nonbelievers in the past. I am sure that, one day, you too shall know for certain that my fortune telling powers are beyond compare."

Both of them yawn simultaneously, though Morgan makes an effort to hide hers politely behind her hand. It truly has gotten late.

"With that, I believe I will turn in for the night. May your fate lead you true, Shizu Saneyoshi." With that, Morgan walks back down the hall towards her room.

Shizu simply stands there in front of the elevator, unsure of what to think.

* * *

 _Conversation with Morgan Feysonn (1)_

 _\- Was apparently waiting for someone to talk to tonight, daytime clothes indicate either that she has no pajamas or that she has been waiting here for some time, perhaps to make her story more convincing_

 _\- Does not seem malicious, perhaps just dedicated to proving herself_

 _\- Despite my own reserved responses, was able to determine what I was doing (perhaps used body language? maybe reason was far too obvious?)_

 _\- Has dealt with other skeptics before, claims to have convinced them, though no evidence to back up claims (no, on second thought, being scouted as an Ultimate would be evidence enough)_

* * *

 _Shizu's Notes_

 _Kitchen_

 _\- Connected to both pantry and freezer_

 _\- Pantry contains mostly dry foods, though also has cleaning closet (probably unable to use for poison unless knowledge of chemistry is there)_

 _\- Freezer contains frozen food (duh), though container of desserts is notable (perhaps ran out of shelves)_

 _Daily Meetings_

 _\- Informal, no real structure_

 _\- Open floor to anyone who wants to say something_

 _\- Perhaps supposed to foster camaraderie, yet that hasn't happened yet_

 _Kaixi's Photos_

 _\- All pictures are from after our capture_

 _\- Only looked through the ones of everyone entering the room, but there are definitely more_

 _\- Strange that Kaixi is allowed to keep his camera, perhaps could be useful for keeping tabs on people or clearing up crimes (why would Monokuma allow this, though?)_

 _\- Do other people have their own personal supplies, either related to their talent or their past? (for example, my notepad)_

 _Nighttime Restrictions_

 _\- Not allowed to enter the dining room, kitchen, pantry, or freezer during nighttime_

 _\- Monokuma claims this is for restocking purposes, yet storage room not subject to same conditions_

 _\- No other rooms under same conditions_

 _\- Only dining room or will future rooms have similar restrictions?_

 _\- Though lights dim, still able to see comfortably, easier on the eyes actually._

* * *

A/N: Hey folks! This chapter isn't as long as the previous one, and I didn't get to give every character an equal amount of screen time, so I apologize if your favorite character didn't have much to do this time around. At the very least, I hope that the characters who got the spotlight were interesting enough. And hey, maybe you even learned something about the way that they think. Things will be a bit more casual for a while, as the motive isn't come for a few more chapters. Thus, please enjoy this period of rest and getting to know everyone. I would also like to thank everyone who has reviewed. I'm pretty awful at remembering to review myself, but getting a review honestly means the world to me. I cannot thank you enough. And, if you don't have time to review, that is also fine, as I'm flattered that you have taken the time to actually read this in the first place. Okay, sappy times over. As usual, if you have any issues with how your character was portrayed, please PM, and I hope you all have a fantastic day.


	8. Chapter 1: A Different Kind of Prison 02

Beta Read by Lupus Overkill

* * *

Shizu's eyes snap open like they do every other morning she's ever had. There's no reason for it. She never set an alarm, and Monokuma certainly hasn't had made any announcement. There isn't even any sunlight to shine into her eyes. Still, she's awake now, at 7:31 AM, if the clock on her monitor is to be believed.

One morning routine later, and she's on her way down to get some breakfast. This time, she walks much slower, as if she's taking the scenic route. After all, even if she did rush, the dining hall would still be closed off. Thus, instead of taking the elevator, she chooses to walk down the stairs.

Shizu feels like she would regret her decision immensely if her room was on the second floor and the dining room was on the fourth floor. These stairs go on forever, and, while she would normally be against hyperbole, this feels a bit excessive. Riding in that elevator did not give her a good sense for how far apart these floors are. The steps seem to spiral endlessly downwards. Then, again, she is still walking quite slowly. Perhaps she's been a bit hasty with the dramatics. Or, more likely, she just needs to exercise more.

Right as she passes by the entrance to the third floor, she hears a chime. "Good morning everyone! It's officially 8 AM, so let's greet the morning with a smile, shall we? That's all!"

She could technically speed things up while she's at the elevator lobby, but she would like to finish her stair experiment first. Walking a bit faster now, she finds that her original assessment, while a bit unfair, had some degree of accuracy to it. She is definitely certain that she won't be running up the steps any time soon, at least.

By the time she makes it to the dining hall, Takumi is already mid-breakfast. He glances at her but says nothing as he scoops up a large spoonful of cereal.

Choosing to respect his desire to be alone, Shizu goes to find her own breakfast. Cereal doesn't sound too appetizing today. She opens the fridge, which is actually a bit taller than she is. Nothing immediately catches her eye, but she should make up her mind quickly or else she'll be staring blankly here forever. She might as well go with… some sunny-side up eggs.

When she takes out a frying pan to start cooking, she notices that it's completely clean. Well, that shouldn't be surprising since most people clean up after themselves. However, it is almost sparkling. She's quite certain that a few of the others used it yesterday. Unless someone here has an obsession with scrubbing things clean, she'd guess that Monokuma was behind this. This must be another one of his nighttime duties. It's less for her to worry about, at least.

With food for thought and food for stomach, she sits down a good distance away from Takumi and begins eating. For a while, there's nothing but silence. However, Takumi eventually mumbles something under his breath… and under his bag.

"I'm sorry, but were you speaking to me?" Shizu asks, careful not to come off as too accusatory. "If so, I was not able to hear you."

"I asked if you always get up this early," Takumi mutters, albeit a little bit louder this time.

Swallowing a piece of her breakfast, Shizu comments, "I'm afraid so. Waking up early is something that I cannot help."

"Guess it could be worse." He stirs his milky cereal slowly. "At least you're not actively bugging me."

"Have others been harassing you?" she asks.

He lets out a bitter laugh. "Figure that one out yourself?" Without waiting for a response, he continues, "Yeah, they've been ringing my doorbell nonstop. I never even answered the door once, but they kept coming back every hour or so and trying again. Can't you just leave me in peace?!"

Shizu closes her eyes, thinking. "Did it ever cross your mind to see what it is they wanted?"

"You think I've got a death wish?!" he shouts, banging his hand on the table. It must have been a bit too hard since he lets out a little yelp.

"…Fair enough, I suppose," Shizu relents. "Though, maybe opening the door slightly and telling them to go away might do the trick."

"You think I-"

Whatever Takumi is about to say, Shizu will never know. The dining room doors interrupt their conversation as Chouki steps inside. His perpetual frown and general demeanor kills their conversation, though Shizu doesn't feel like he's to blame too much. There wasn't that much left to say regardless, unless she felt like talking in circles.

Once again, the rest of the Ultimates slowly trickle in, preparing their respective breakfasts and taking seats around the table. Even though it has only been two days since they first met, everyone appears to have found a favorite seat. With this comfort secured, some of them may be feeling bolder than usual, as there's a bit of chatter going on. Not everyone is joining in, of course, but the atmosphere is much friendlier than yesterday.

The doors burst open once more as Joshua comes hurtling in. "I'm awake!" he yells to no one in particular, though he takes the time to hunch over and pant profusely. Soraru laughs loudly at the display. There's a glint in xer eyes as xe watches Joshua right himself and go into the kitchen. That might be something to file away for later…

Just like yesterday, nobody has any announcements to make. At least, they don't have anything they'd like to say to everyone. However, as she noted previously, the friendly conversations are still going on, so it's probably for the best that nobody has something pressing to bring up.

Shizu has her own game plan ready, however. She needs to check the storage room as soon as possible to see if her idea is even feasible, but there isn't any rush. Thus, just in case something happens before breakfast is over, she remains seated until most everyone else has finished and left. Once satisfied that everything is going to be alright, she goes back into the kitchen to put away her plate. Inside, she finds Michio washing the frying pans that got used.

"Hey, Shizu, just who I wanted to see!" He greets her with a wave of his hand, though he accidentally flicks soapy water in several directions in the process.

She merely nods, forgoing her own greeting. "In case you were not aware, I believe that Monokuma is cleaning all of the dishes for us. You may not need to be so thorough."

He stops scrubbing for a moment. "Huh, really? That's odd. Don't know why he'd bother… Well, even if that's true, I'm sure someone's gonna use one of these if they're hungry later, so better to clean them now than not having your favorite meal later." Shaking his head, he changes the topic. "And, as nice as that is, that's not what I wanted to talk about."

Placing her plate in the dishwasher, she asks, "Is there a reason you didn't bring this up earlier?"

"Well, I didn't wanna say anything to everyone else. Err… not that this is a bad thing, mind you. Just didn't wanna freak the others out by having some private meeting." Michio chuckles slightly and puts the last pan out to dry. "I was just wondering if you knew how to cook."

That was not the question she was expecting. "…What? Why on Earth would you think that?"

Raising his hands up in defense, he speaks quickly. "Uh, okay, that came out poorly. Not trying to stereotype you or something. It's just that, from what I can tell, you get here way earlier than everybody else. Maybe it could help morale if you started making breakfast for everyone. You don't have to do that, of course."

Shizu takes a deep breath. "I suppose that's a nice idea, but you've asked the wrong person. I know enough to feed myself properly, but I'm no great chef. Even if I was, I would rather not spend my time cooking for a large group of people."

"Yeah, that's totally fine," Michio says casually. "Just thought I should ask. 'Sides, it was you, Takumi, or Soraru, and I think we both know who the most reliable option would be."

Although she agrees, she chooses to ignore that last comment. "There are other issues with that plan. The main issue is that whoever is cooking must keep in mind any allergies or dietary restrictions for sixteen people. That is no easy task."

"Well, again, that's why I was asking you." He sees the expression on her face and responds, "Aw, don't look at me like that. C'mon, are you really telling me that you wouldn't go around and ask everyone what they like to eat? You've even got those notes of yours."

"…True," she admits, gazing dully towards the kitchen floor. "Even so, I know that there will always be a few people who would wish to choose their own meals. Or, perhaps, they distrust anything that others make."

"Hey, I already said that you didn't have to do anything! No need to keep poking holes in my idea..." Michio rubs the back of his head.

She has been a bit… aggressive… with pushing her ideas, hasn't she? "…I apologize. It's simply in my nature, I'm afraid."

"Well, you are a strategist, right? I guess it comes with the territory." Michio shrugs. "No harm, no foul though. Thanks for the input!"

Shizu raises an eyebrow. "That's a bit strange coming from you. I mean no offense, but you are not exactly the kind of person I think of when I picture a coroner."

"Heh, it's a good difference, right?" He winks at her.

"…It's _a_ difference."

"I don't see much point in getting all somber or depressed over death or that kind of stuff. And trust me, I've seen some really brutal deaths out there…" He pauses to steady his hands before continuing. "But the most I can do for them now is to find out how they died. That way, they get some justice at least."

Considering his words, Shizu scratches her chin. "Perhaps there is a difference in how our talents relate to our mindsets. For you, you come in after something terrible has already happened. On the other hand, I come in specifically to make sure terrible things don't happen. Response as opposed to prevention…"

He clicks his tongue. "Hey, it's not like I don't take things seriously when it's time. You haven't seen me when I'm on the job, after all. I can get pretty serious, you know."

"In that case, why aren't you getting serious right now?" she asks. "This situation seems like the sort of thing where you would want to take things seriously."

"That's not the kind of thing that's going to help right now. At least, that's how I'm thinking." Michio starts pacing. "Not to say that what's happening isn't extremely fucked up, but there's still an almost surreal quality to everything. It's like something out of the Twilight Zone or Dr. Who. You know, fake TV stuff."

She files away his hobby information for later. "Well, I can assure you that I'm not an actor, and I highly doubt that this is some new kind of reality TV show."

Stopping to give her a flat look, he says, "Yeah, not exactly comforting."

"I apologize, but I am trying to be a realist here."

"To each their own, I guess." He shrugs. "Well, that was all I wanted to bother you about. Guess I'll just have to think of something else. Later, Shizu." With that, he walks absentmindedly out of the kitchen, both of his hands stuffed in his trench coat pockets.

* * *

 _Conversation with Michio Kokkaku (1)_

 _\- Concerned about getting people to work together_

 _\- Wanted me to cook breakfast every day, doesn't appear to be a sexist thing though_

 _\- Claims to get more serious when things get bad, though considers present situation to be too fake to take seriously_

 _\- Doesn't mean that he thinks it's fake, just that it feels that way_

 _\- Enjoys watching fictional TV shows (sci-fi?)_

* * *

Shizu considers what she's learned as she makes her way to the storage room. There is technically still a chance that this is an elaborate ruse, however unlikely that may be. It could be a social experiment, for instance. However, what if somebody snapped right away? It would be very hard to explain the sudden, unexpected murder. Unless that was also part of the experiment…

Whilst deep in her thoughts, she passes by the lounge and happens to notice someone inside, looking into the fish tank. Upon closer inspection, it appears to be Chouki, though that fact is not surprising in the least. How much time does he spend there anyways?

Her plan can wait a bit longer. For now, it's best to get to know him when he's hopefully in a good mood. He seems to like the fish, at least. Bracing herself for some harsh words, she steps inside.

Chouki doesn't acknowledge her at first, choosing instead to fix his gaze on the colorful fish inside the tank. Once she clears her throat, however, he seems to realize that she's not going away. Looking at her reflection in the glass, he grumbles, "What do you want?"

"I saw you in here and thought that I should check up on you," she says.

He rolls his eyes. "What do you actually want?"

She blinks rapidly. "…I just told you. I sincerely hope that it is not difficult for you to believe that I want to talk to everyone."

"Yeah, but why?" he scoffs. "Don't tell me that you're worried about everyone's well-being or something. Not in a situation like this."

Chouki is half-right in his assessment, but Shizu doesn't think he'd appreciate her saying that. Instead, she concedes. "Very well then. I wish to speak with you because it is in my own best interest to understand how everyone thinks. It is entirely selfish. With that out of the way, may we proceed?"

He clicks his tongue and narrows his glare even further. "I doubt you'll go away even if I said no. Let's get this over with then. What do you want to know?"

She's never been great at small talk, so this might get awkward. "The fish tank. Is it saltwater?"

"This is why you're bothering me?" He actually turns around to face her, brow furrowed in annoyance. When she holds her gaze, he sighs. "Yeah, it is."

"Then I'm guessing that you are familiar with at least a few of the species living there, correct?" she asks.

"…Yeah," he admits. "It's a diverse tank, that's for sure. I know every single one." He returns his attention back to the fish swimming around.

"I recall you mentioning something about wishing they weren't there," Shizu prods. "Would you care to elaborate?"

She can see him roll his eyes in the reflection. "What, is it supposed to be a shock that I'm not fond of keeping wild animals in cages? It's not rocket science. They belong out in the open ocean, not stuck in here for our "enjoyment" or whatever reason Monokuma might spout."

"Perhaps these fish were bred in captivity and not taken from the wild," she points out.

He's determined to make his point. "Yeah, so? Where do you think their parents came from? Or their parent's parents? Or so on? In the end, it doesn't change anything at all. Humans still messed with nature for no good reason, and now it's the wildlife that's worse off for it."

"Pardon me, but I currently fail to see how they are that much worse off." Chouki looks ready to say something, so she gets to her point quickly. "This is a rather large tank, much larger than any I have seen before outside of aquariums. For the amount of fish inside, I do not believe they are cramped."

"It's still cramped compared-" he begins.

She finishes his sentence for him. "Compared to the ocean, yes, I am aware of this fact. That is why I have other arguments. For instance, the water looks just as clean as it did on the first day. In addition to this, I believe that the fish have been well fed. If nobody had been feeding them, I would have expected you to have been the first person to complain."

"There's a difference between fed and well fed." It's telling that he started with her second point, though he transitions into his full criticism after saying this. "Just because Monokuma's been feeding them, that doesn't mean they're eating what's best for them. And a filtration system and constant cleaning are no substitute for the real deal. You can't just replicate that kind of stuff with machines."

Seeing how his worldview is incompatible with her previous arguments, Shizu is forced to her final point. "Then, what of their predators? It does not appear that there are any predatory species inside the tank. Therefore, they will never have to worry about being attacked, killed, or eaten."

"Oh please." Chouki side eyes her. "Predators are a part of life. Some animals need to eat others to live, and that, in turn, controls populations and keeps everything functioning properly. Without the need for people messing things up, might I add? You can't seriously think that removing a fundamental part of nature is a good thing. Maybe you're dumber than you think you are."

She does her best to not let his comment affect her, visibly or mentally. "At this particular point in time, not having to worry about being attacked sounds enjoyable." Well, there goes that plan.

"Whether they were in the wild or in this aquarium, the reasoning would be the same. Animals kill to survive. People kill for any number of petty reasons," Chouki states matter-of-factly. "The situations aren't even close to being comparable. We were told that we needed to get away with murder to escape here. There's no natural force that's making us kill. You being worried about petty killing and thinking that's at all comparable to animals hunting each other… that's just typical."

"Oh… I see you are… lecturing… again." Shizu hadn't even heard anyone walk into the lounge, but there's no mistaking Pal's distinctive voice patterns.

Chouki grunts. "Pal."

Either undeterred by or used to the harshness, Pal responds calmly. "It is good to see… that you are still… well." He faces Shizu to address her. "And I am glad… you have found… such an astute listener. Greetings… Shizu."

"Hello Pal." It is a little incredible how easily his presence has deescalated things.

"Listener…" Chouki mutters whilst pouting. "Yeah, let's go with that."

Shizu explains. "I believe a discussion would be the more appropriate term. Neither of us were idle bystanders."

Chouki's mood has only slightly improved. "If you want to be polite about it, then, yeah, discussion. Whatever word makes you feel better."

"I see…" Pal strokes his chin. "I had feared that… a violent storm was brewing… so I rushed over… to soothe the waves with my siren song." He takes several slow, rhythmic steps until he stands next to Chouki.

"There was a fair bit of disagreement, but you have nothing to fear. It was with words only, and violence was never a threat," Shizu tries to persuade him.

Making a tsking sound, Chouki says, "I wasn't about to come to blows. No need to babysit us." Still, he doesn't push Pal away.

From her view of Pal's reflection, he does not entirely appear convinced. Regardless, he says, "I… will trust you both. There is… no need for us… to fight at a time… such as this."

"No need for you to include yourself there." Chouki's reflection also appears to be the same, though his tone is much softer. "Not like you were in that argument."

"Oh… it was an… argument, now?" There's a hint of amusement in Pal's voice.

Chouki hits him lightly. "Oh, like you weren't already thinking that."

Shizu decides that now would be a good time to exit the room. It sounds like the two of them have an understanding going on between them, and it would be in her best interests to not disrupt it. Especially not after Chouki finally seems to be content. Thus, she slowly edges her way outside and back into the hallway.

* * *

 _Conversation with Chouki Awadachi (1)_

 _\- Without a doubt cares more about animals than he does people_

 _\- Nature is very important to him, and disrupting it in any way is a surefire way to get on his bad side_

 _\- Seems to be against pets, like as a concept_

 _\- Reinforced low view of humanity, though I wonder if that same doubt is applied to himself_

 _\- Seems to have gotten into arguments with other people about similar things, if Pal is to be believed_

* * *

"Hey, hey, watch it nerd!"

Shizu looks up from her notepad just in time to dodge out of the way of Soraru. Xe skids to a halt a short distance away from where she stopped. She takes a moment to process this.

On the other hand, Soraru has no qualms about speaking up. "Whew, that was a close one. You nearly charged right into me! Thank goodness I'm nimble."

"What on Earth are you talking about? You were the one running," Shizu accuses.

Xe blows a raspberry. "Minor detail. You were the one who was actually in the way. You're like a teenager who can't stop looking at her cell phone. What, is social media more important to you than looking both ways before you cross the street?" Then, xer eyes widen. "Oooh, wait, does your notepad have Facebook? That'd be so cool!"

Ignoring xer question, Shizu looks at the direction xe ran from and thinks. "What were you doing in the storage room, Soraru?"

Xe balks momentarily before regaining xer footing. "Huh? Why do you think I was in there?"

"Because that is literally the only room available in that direction," Shizu states flatly.

Sticking out xer tongue, xe says, "Oops, busted! Fine, I was looking for something. It wasn't in there, which is stupid. Just like the room. Stupid."

"What exactly were you looking for?" Shizu asks.

Xe waves xer hand. "Pfft, nothing important. Besides, it's not in there, so why do you care?" Not even giving her the chance to answer, xe says, "Well, that was a waste of time, so I'm going to go do anything else. Later!" Then, xe's off once more before Shizu can register anything.

That was mildly disconcerting, but Shizu still has work to do. There will be time to figure out what the hell is going on in that baker's mind another time. Hopefully, that time will be far, far away.

Once she gets to the storage room, she immediately makes for the decoration section. Both times she was in here previously, she was in the right state of mind to completely what the decorations or other odds and ends could exactly be. If she had foresight or, at least, company that did not rub her the wrong way, she might have looked sooner. However, she is done with excuses.

Not every box is labeled completely helpfully. "Floor stuff", for instance, is almost completely unhelpful. For her purposes, "wall stuff" is especially frustrating. Even when most of the boxes with that label contain wallpaper, her brain makes her check each and every one, just in case there is something else inside.

After what feels like ages, she eventually finds her target. One of the boxes is full of clocks. Unfortunately, they are analog rather than digital, but beggars can't be choosers. Still, she needs to check one more thing. She flips the clock over and checks the back. The only thing she finds is the back cover. It was a long shot to hope for a magnet but still… She sighs and goes back to her search.

Although she finds more clocks, she doesn't find anything quite like she's looking for. In fact, she doesn't even find any digital clocks. Frustrated, she begins searching the tool section for something to help her. It takes her a little while, but she eventually discovers some metal, magnetic clasps. They seem to be fairly weak, but two should be more than enough for one clock.

She stacks the two boxes on top of each other, groans slightly, and picks them both up. Luckily enough for her, the contents aren't that heavy, but it is unwieldy to maneuver with even a small stack such as this one. She's lucky that she doesn't run into anyone on her way to the elevator and back up to her room, but she wouldn't having minded the help, even if it meant a collision.

Setting the boxes down in front of her door, she lets out a couple deep breaths. She's not ashamed to admit that she's never been in shape. Although, the trip wasn't that strenuous, now that she thinks about it, and her pants were more out of expectation than actual need. Still, it's time to focus. She unlocks her room, props the door open with the box containing the clasps, and moves the clock box inside. Making sure she has a good look at the display on the monitor, she begins setting the time on each of the clocks.

It's tedious work. Despite the fact that she has literally been looking at the time for a long while now, she hasn't actually registered it as anything other than an input method. Her stomach eventually starts growling at her, but she ignores it in favor of her work. She's made a lot of progress when she hears somebody knock on her door. That she left open. For several hours. Oops.

Kazuha peeks her head inside. "Shizu? Are you in here?"

"I'm fine," she calls from her position on her bed.

"Um… are you sure? Your hair's looking kind of disheveled…" Kazuha realizes what she just said and holds up her hands. "Oh geez, that was really rude! I'm sorry! I was just worried about you."

"Don't apologize. I've been doing mindless busywork for a while. It's only natural that I'd look at least a little tired." Shizu feels her hair a bit and finds it sticking up in odd places.

Kazuha fiddles with her cap before saying, "Um… If you don't mind me asking, what exactly were you doing? Are these boxes really important?"

"They're filled with clocks and magnetic clasps," Shizu explains. "If you hadn't noticed, the only way to keep track of time in this building is to either wait for the announcements that Monokuma gives or to return to someone's room. I found that to be slightly inconvenient, so I decided to fix that for myself. Hence, I'm planning on hanging clocks up in most of the rooms and in good points in the hallways."

"Oh, that's a great idea. Thank Shizu!" Kazuha beams.

"No thanks necessary," she replies, though she can't help but smile slightly.

Eyeing the clock box once again, Kazuha's eyes widen. "Please don't tell me that you've been doing this all by yourself."

Shizu defends her actions. "This is trivial stuff. I see no need to bother anyone else about this. Besides, I enjoy some alone time when possible."

Kazuha gives her a sympathetic look. "Oh Shizu, I'm sure that people would have been glad to help if you just asked. I know I sure would have. And I understand that you need to have some private moments, but this must have taken ages. Did you even have dinner yet?"

"Hmm… I don't think so," Shizu admits. Looking at the clock, she's a bit surprised to see that it's already past 10 PM.

That really sets Kazuha off. "Come on! You're almost as bad as Takumi…" Then, she suddenly slaps her head. "Takumi! That's right! I almost forgot."

"Did something happen to him?" she questions.

Shaking her head, Kazuha answers, "No, but that's the problem. I haven't seen him all day. Or all day yesterday either. I don't think he's eaten yet, and I'm starting to get really worried about him. I tried checking his room earlier, but he never responded. I really hope something bad hasn't happened to him."

"Perhaps he didn't want to talk to anyone," Shizu reasons.

"But I've been looking for him on and off for a while now… But maybe you're right and I'm only making things worse…" She trails off and starts thinking. "…Hey, Shizu. Could you do me a favor?"

"That depends on what the favor is."

"Would you mind checking Takumi's room for me one last time? Maybe he'll tolerate you more than he tolerates me." Her voice is pleading.

Shizu raises an eyebrow. "How would he know who was at his door? They don't have a way to check who's outside."

Kazuha stomps her foot lightly. "I know! But it would really make me feel better if someone was there while I checked around one last time. You would only have to ring once. Please?"

Shizu concedes. "…Very well, if you insist."

She's unprepared for Kazuha's hug. "Oh, thank you so much! I'm going to look around the rest of the rooms again! Make sure you get dinner once you're done!" Then, she's off, her hair fluttering behind her as she runs.

Shizu takes one moment to lay back on her bed before getting up to fulfill her promise. She walks to the elevator and heads for the third floor dorms. Most people have probably headed off to bed now, and, by this point, she's used to walking through the halls completely uninterrupted. She doesn't hesitate to ring the doorbell of Takumi's room once she gets there, wanting to get this over with. As expected, though, she gets no response. It probably wasn't even worth the effort.

Just as she is about to leave, she hears a door open. It comes from the opposite side of the hall. None of the doors look any different. Whoever it was must have realized she was there and changed their mind. Still, she didn't hear a door close, so she investigates further. Upon closer inspection, she finds that Fumika's door is slightly ajar. Which means…

The door fully swings open, nearly hitting her. Fumika is still dressed in her day clothes, looking completely awake. "What are you doing here, Shizu?" she inquires.

Shizu answers truthfully. "I went to check up on Takumi. He didn't answer, so I was about to leave."

Fumika gives her a look. "I thought you would have known better than to disturb someone who didn't want company. It's not as if he was being all that subtle about it, so don't tell me you weren't aware of his desires."

"I rang his doorbell once and then was about to leave. I was not about to hammer on it until he came out," she claims.

"It's probably all the same to him," Fumika murmurs, though obviously loud enough so that Shizu can hear. "It's still bothering him at a time when most people are starting to go to bed. Not trying to accuse you, but just saying…"

"I will keep that in mind. Thank you." With that, Shizu decides to switch the topic. "Now, if you would pardon me, I would like to know exactly what you were doing at this hour. After all, you are perfectly aware of my goals. It would only be fair."

Biting her lip, Fumika averts her eyes. "What makes you think I was going to do anything?"

"I heard your door open," Shizu points out, keeping her eyes locked to Fumika's face. She also takes the opportunity to move her foot in front of the door, in case the historian attempts to close it.

Eventually, Fumika relents. "…I was hoping to figure out what you were doing. That's why I confronted you."

Shizu narrows her eyes and crosses her arms. "That doesn't make any sense. In order for that to be the case, you would have needed to know that I was out here beforehand. The doorbell rings out in the halls as well, but your door only opened after I pressed the doorbell. There is no possible way you would have known I was out here."

"Hey, what's with the accusations?" Fumika bristles. "I just opened my door. It's not like I did anything wrong."

That was probably a bit harsh of Shizu. "…I apologize. I was simply curious about what I perceived as a lie." It's not the best excuse, but it's the only one she has.

Fumika still seems a bit standoffish, but she accepts it with a quick nod. "I wasn't looking for you specifically. But I happened to see you, so that's what I was interested in."

"Does that mean that you were trying to find something by opening your door? With no hint that you would find anything whatsoever?" Shizu asks.

"It's a bit of a nervous habit," Fumika says as she looks to the floor again and kicks the ground. "If I hear a noise when I'm trying to sleep, I have to go investigate. I have to know what it is or else I'll have trouble sleeping. But, because the doors are soundproofed, I can't hear anything going on outside at all. So, I'm stuck with my gut feelings. It's the only way to calm myself down, you know…"

Shizu taps her chin in thought. "A nervous habit, hmm? A bit strange… Most people tend to be afraid of the unknown and curl up deeper into their sheets. I suppose that not everybody is the same, however."

"I thought you might be similar. You're a strategist, right? I didn't think you were the kind of person who would look the other way when there was a mystery involved," Fumika states.

"You're not entirely wrong," Shizu admits. "However, I don't think I would go out of my way to check outside every few hours during the night. That sounds like it could get a little dangerous. It's not exactly something I expected from you." She pauses when she realizes what she said. That was a little truer than she first thought. "Although, now that I think about it, I don't know exactly what I would expect from you. You've been somewhat solitary these past few days. I haven't gotten the chance to know you."

Fumika hesitates. "…Well, can you truly blame me for that? I want to trust everyone. I really do. But… with the way things are, I find it best to keep my distance."

"That is completely understandable." It's also completely frustrating for someone like Shizu, but that would not be a helpful comment to make at this juncture. "And you have been slightly more willing to compromise with the others than some people. I believe I saw you at dinner yesterday."

"Yes, I was there," she confirms. "You did walk in on me, though. I wasn't necessarily agreeing to meet up with people."

Shizu sighs. "That may be the case, but you were there during a time when most people would naturally get hungry. Plus, you stayed to chat with the rest of us, instead of heading your own way. I should thank you for that."

"It's no problem," Fumika quickly says.

They're left in silence, apparently having run out of topics to discuss. At least, Shizu cannot think of anything she could ask that Fumika might be willing to answer. Therefore, she settles for saying her farewells. "In any case, thank you for your time. I should let you get back to bed. I would ask you to take care of yourself and stop looking outside in the middle of the night, but you have no reason to listen to me."

"…I will try. Good night Shizu." Having said that, Fumika closes her door.

That was certainly an interesting conversation. Shizu would like to reflect on it more, but her hunger is finally getting to her. She decides to stop at the dining hall to get something before finding Kazuha again.

* * *

 _Conversation with Fumika Amari (1)_

 _\- Sensitive to others being bothered, perhaps stems from her own desire to keep to herself_

 _\- Reluctantly admitted/claimed to randomly open her door at night to listen in on what was happening_

 _\- No issue investigating danger, could stem from her historian side (good historians should not ignore the messy/bad parts of history, need to consider it all)_

 _\- Private person, but one who seems willing to change her ways_

 _\- I wonder how much insomnia she has_

* * *

By this point, she should not be surprised to hear some noise coming from the dining hall, even this late at night. Apparently, something is always happening there. She speeds up her walk as her stomach growls in protest. She pushes open the doors to find Takumi yelling at an upset Kazuha. In the corner of her eye, she spies Hachi desperately trying not to be noticed as she chews on some crackers.

"Oh great, i-is everyone going to c-come in here?" Takumi half-groans, half-stutters.

"Oh, Shizu," Kazuha calls out to her thankfully. "Could you maybe help out here?"

Takumi takes issue with that, balling his fists. "Help out how? By cornering me more?"

Kazuha grips her cap and steps back. "Huh? C-cornering? But we're on opposite sides of the room."

He ignores her. "Ugh… I can't sleep in peace, I can't relax in peace, and now I can't even eat in peace."

"I… I said I w-was s-s-sorry," Hachi pleads, her words muffled by her chewing. "I j-just wanted a s-snack."

"At the e-exact same time I was having my dinner? You can't tell m-me that's not incredibly suspicious!" he declares. He points at her accusingly, though the effect is lessened due to the fact that his entire arm is shaking madly.

"B-but it's the truth…" Hachi mutters, tears beginning to form.

Kazuha has had enough. "Hey, don't blame Hachi for this. It's a complete coincidence! Nobody is at fault here. Let's just all calm down for a minute." She takes a few deep breaths, as if to demonstrate.

It has no effect on Takumi. "H-how can I stay calm when you're keeping me h-here, like a hostage?"

"If you wish to leave, nobody is stopping you," Shizu finally speaks up. She steps away from the door and closer to Kazuha, giving him room to move.

He takes several back and forth glances between his adversaries and his escape. In the end, he quickly leaves, though not before saying, "Look, just l-let me have this one meal alone from now on. Please." He doesn't wait for a response, however.

Kazuha lets out a deep sign and buries her face in her hands. "I just wanted to help out… How did things go so wrong so quickly?" she moans.

"Can you tell me exactly what happened?" Shizu pries.

Looking up, she nods. "Well, after you left, I went looking one last time for Takumi. When I got to the second floor, I heard some loud voices, so I followed them to the dining hall. And Hachi was getting yelled at by Takumi, so of course I stepped in. And then the yelling got worse. And then you came in. And then-"

Shizu stops her. "I believe I understand." She then turns to Hachi. "You said you wanted a late-night snack, correct?"

Hachi immediately defends herself. "I d-didn't know h-he'd be in here. I'm sorry!"

Shizu internally groans, hoping she doesn't mess everything up. "You are not to blame here. There was no way of knowing what Takumi's daily routine looked like, especially not after only two days."

"I shouldn't have been so initially aggressive though," Kazuha says, still muffled by her hands. "I knew he was stressed out. But I still went in full force. I've been going in full force all day. Ugh… I feel awful."

Shizu reaches to pat her on the shoulder but changes her mind. "I think the best bet for now would be to leave him alone. You had the best intentions, even if the outcome was a bit unwieldy and out of your control."

"I think I just want to go to bed right now." Kazuha lifts her head, her eyes looking a little red. "Thank you for helping me out today Shizu. And I'm sorry you got wrapped up in this, Hachi. Both of you, have a good night." She exits the dining hall solemnly.

The only sound now is Hachi's frantic munching. Shizu turns to her. "Are you feeling a little better?"

Hachi shakes her head, no. "S-sorry Shizu… J-just not f-feeling great."

"In that case, why don't you take some boxes of your favorite snack back to your room?" she asks.

Realizing how late it is, Hachi's chewing gets faster. "D-do you th-think it's a-almost midnight?"

"Probably not," Shizu attempts to soothe her. "However, I'm certain your bed would be much more comfortable than a dining room chair. No one would be able to interrupt you either, and you could have snacks for later, if you so desired."

Hachi slowly nods and walks towards the kitchen. Then, she pauses and says, in a quiet voice, "Do y-you think Takumi w-will still come h-here t-to eat dinner t-tomorrow?"

"That is a likely possibility, though I would have to check first."

"Okay then." Her stuttering finally starting to clear up, Hachi runs into the kitchen and, presumably, the pantry.

Shizu looks at the table, seeing the remains of Takumi's dinner. It's a half eaten bowl of soup, though she can't tell what kind from this angle. Her stomach growls again, and she groans in return. It looks as though her meal will have to be quick.

* * *

 _Shizu's Notes_

 _Clock Setup_

 _\- Currently impossible to tell the time without announcements or going into dorm rooms_

 _\- Should set up clocks around the halls so that everyone is certain of what time it is, regardless of location/time_

 _\- Cannot drill through metal walls, so need to use the magnetic clasps to set up each clock on the walls_

 _\- Make sure to leave some clocks for when more rooms/floors open up (should not be a problem due to sheer number available)_

 _\- Note for Shizu: manually setting clocks is very boring and you completely underestimated how long it would take_

* * *

A/N: Hey folks. Bit of a lighter chapter today, but I hope it's enjoyable all the same. I kind of got even less of the characters involved in this one, but, hopefully, you learned something new about a few of the more reclusive characters in the process. It looks like even Shizu didn't have too many things to take notes on, though she's apparently got a plan... As usual, if you take issue with how your character was portrayed, please don't hesitate to message me. Finding the time to write is getting a little harder as I get further into college, but I hope to have the next chapter out a bit sooner. Don't count on that though... As usual, I hope you all have a fantastic day!


	9. Chapter 1: A Different Kind of Prison 03

Beta Read by Lupus Overkill

* * *

Another morning, another early wake-up. It's certainly much better waking up on a cushiony mattress than the rock hard one of prison at least. It almost makes her excited to start the day, especially since it's been a bit quieter these past few days. Still, the reality of the situation looms over her uncontrollably.

When the elevator doors open on the second floor this time, however, she's a little shocked to see that Monokuma is standing directly in front of her. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen or heard from him all of yesterday, save for the announcements. "Oh good, I was starting to get bored. You really like to take your time, huh?"

After taking a moment to collect her bearings, she slowly asks, "…What do you want?"

"Wait, that's it? You're not going to apologize for making me wait so long?" He crosses his arms and huffs dramatically. "What nerve!"

"I cannot be held accountable for my transportation. If you take issue with that, then that would require you to adjust the elevator and make it faster," she plainly states. "Now, please answer my question."

He sighs. "I guess it can't be helped… I should really make a rule where everyone has to respect me." Shrugging cheerfully, he bounces right back. "Well, since you wanted to know so badly, I was just about to tell you that I've taken the liberty of opening up a few new rooms to help spruce up your living space. From now on, you have free access to the infirmary and the laundry room. Aren't I the greatest?"

She narrows her eyes. "You're the one who blocked them off in the first place."

"Yeah, because I needed to work on them some more!" Monokuma says dismissively.

"In that case," Shizu says, "Why did you simply not wait a few more days to take all of us and begin this game? What was the point of starting it without finishing those rooms? After all, you only needed a few more days to complete them."

He raises his paws in aggravation, claws extended. "Look, do you want them or not? I can still take them away, you know!"

"Dodging the question then?" She shakes her head. "Well, I suppose I cannot control you. Very well, I suppose I will go investigate them."

He ignores her first statement this time. "Good, good. Now, I've gotta go tell the others. You're quite the chatterbox, but I can't let someone as annoying as you distract me for any longer." He dashes away and out of sight before she can make a remark.

She's left with several questions. For instance, if he needed to tell them all something, why did he simply not make an announcement? Did he already tell some of the others before her? Did he manage to wake Joshua to tell him? That may be a true feat, honestly. However, she has a few rooms that she needs to investigate. She sets off to the right, starting with the laundry room.

Walking inside, she finds nothing out of the ordinary. On one end of the room, there is a line of washing machines. On the other, dryers are up against the wall. Neither of them looks very large, but that shouldn't be too much of an issue. They only have a limited number of outfits. Even if they do use them all, there appear to be enough machines to handle the load. At the very back of the room, there are several cabinets, most likely containing cleaning pods or dryer sheets. There is also a clothesline stretching across both walls.

She sees Kaixi sitting on one of the washing machines, staring intently at his camera. He looks up at the sound of her footsteps and waves. "Hey Shizu! I hope you're not trying to use these." He pats the machine he's sitting on and the one to his left gently.

Shizu blinks rapidly. "Is there a particular reason why?"

"Yeah, Morgan already called them. You'll have to wait your turn." He smiles apologetically and plays with the straps of his backpack.

Well, that's a little odd. "Since when did she own anything? And, more importantly, since when did you agree to follow her orders?"

Kaixi stiffens at her tone. "W-well, she asked really nicely if I would make sure that nobody uses them. I didn't want to say no. Is that really a bad thing?"

"Sorry, my question was a bit vague. Why did she claim those specific ones?" she clarifies.

His eyes widen with understanding. "Oh, these are the only two machines that work. She wants to do her darks and colors separately, so she needs both of them."

Wait, seriously?

"…Did I hear you correctly?" She adjusts her glasses and stares directly in his eyes. "Did you say that only two of these washing machines are functioning?"

"Yes, unfortunately. I checked all of them, and only two of them are even turned on. I guess the rest are out of order or something…" Kaixi swings his leg back and forth but flinches when he accidently hits the washing machine on the backswing.

Still a bit in disbelief, Shizu checks for herself, despite Kaixi's hushed protests. Sure enough, the huge line of washing machines is nothing but a ruse. They only have access to two of them. She pinches her forehead and groans. "Are you kidding me? This has to be a terrible joke."

"I am afraid not." And that would be Morgan. She looks no worse for wear despite the early morning and carrying a small hamper.

Kaixi leaps off of his perch and greets her. "Oh, Morgan! Don't worry, I made sure that nobody else would take your spot."

She smiles politely towards him. "And I thank you very much for that. You have done well." In response, Kaixi bounces on his feet slightly.

Shizu decides to address her directly. "I am assuming you were the first person to get here, correct?"

"You are a good guesser," Morgan says. "To my knowledge, I was the first person to step into this room. Before this, the spirits were undisturbed. However, Kaixi was not far behind me, and he kindly agreed to hold the fort, so to speak. I do apologize, but I am unwilling to let someone else snatch up the limited resources before my clean clothing runs dry."

Shizu wants to question her on why she didn't bring her laundry with her in the first place, seeing how she could have "asked" the spirits how many washing machines were working, but she holds her tongue. Instead, she waves her hand. "It is fine. I wasn't planning on using them right now regardless."

"Investigating before breakfast, I see," Morgan giggles. "That is-"

Their conversation gets interrupted by a chime.

"Good morning everyone! It's officially 8 AM, so let's greet the morning with a smile, shall we? That's all!"

Without waiting for a pause, Morgan continues her thought. "That is quite thorough of you, Shizu Saneyoshi."

She replies, "It isn't as though I had anything else to do. Monokuma did inform me the instant I stepped out of the elevator."

"Huh? That's a bit weird…" Kaixi scratches his chin. "He woke me up by ringing my doorbell. Maybe he stopped by since he knew you were coming down anyways."

Morgan confirms this as she pulls some pods out of the cabinets. "It was the same for me as well. By fortune, I was already awake, getting ready for the day, when he chose to approach my room. The spirits urged me to observe this room as quickly as possible, so I hastened without delay."

"I think I came pretty quickly afterwards," Kaixi adds. "Monokuma seemed annoyed at something, so I kind of wanted to get out of that situation as soon as possible…"

Morgan frowns. "He seemed to be his usual, obnoxious self when he informed me. Perhaps one of the others was not cooperative." Loading up her clothing into one of the working washing machines, she shakes her head. "No matter. I do not care to think about the motivations of such an accursed bear."

"I suppose I could agree for this situation," Shizu mutters, though she can't stop her mind from racing. Instinctively, she grabs hold of her pen and starts spinning it around her fingers.

Kaixi says, "Yeah, I guess Monokuma's just a big dumb jerk no matter what. No reason getting upset about it." His words are a bit muffled by the low rumbling of the washing machine that Morgan just now switched on. It's slightly hard to tell, but it also sounds like his stomach growled as well. "Um… If it's not too much to ask, could we go get breakfast now? I'm getting a little hungry, sorry!"

"I was about to suggest the same thing." Morgan moves her hamper out of the middle of the room and smiles. She notices that Shizu makes no effort to move. "We will see you there later, yes?"

Shizu nods. "I won't be too long."

Looking between them, Kaixi frowns. "Huh? Is something up? Are you not hungry?"

"I still need to look at the infirmary," she replies.

"You can't wait until after breakfast?" He looks a little disappointed. "I mean, I haven't checked it out yet either… Oh! But if you want to, I'm not going to stop you. Sorry!"

"It's fine. I prefer to cover everything as soon as possible. I will see you both shortly." Shizu pushes past both of them to get to her destination quicker. She has a feeling this conversation could drag on a while longer and, while socializing can be nice, she has more important things to do.

As she approaches the infirmary, she sees the door open and Chouki walk out, pouting as usual. He doesn't look much more put off than usual, so it's likely that someone else is in there and he simply felt annoyed by having to interact with them. He barely glances at her as he stalks past, although her eyes trail after him, even as he rounds the corner and vanishes. Huh.

The infirmary is about what she expected, similar to the laundry room. There are only three beds, but each of them can be separated by a curtain, and they all have their own IV drips. Across from the beds is a counter with a sink and several cabinets. Presumably, they store things such as medicine, gloves, or other tools for doctors. Close to the entrance and along the wall, she spots a tall cabinet separate from the counter. The only odd thing out would be the mini-fridge right next to said tall cabinet.

As it turns out, there is someone in here. Samia is currently going through the contents of that cabinet, holding up what appears to be a bottle of pills. She looks over her shoulder when she hears the doors open and gives Shizu a cursory wave. "I thought you were Chouki again for a second."

"No such luck, I'm afraid." Shizu looks past Samia but can only see a variety of bottles whose labels are too small to read from this distance.

Samia tries to hold back a snort and is mostly successful. "Hey, you're fine. Believe me, you'd know if I had an issue with you."

"I'm guessing that you have been in here for most of the morning, correct?" Shizu asks.

"You would be right. I've been hoping to find out what this place had for a while now. I still don't fully understand why we didn't get access until now. I would have much rather done inventory on the first day. At least I have the time to go through everything now, I guess." Samia sighs and puts the bottle back inside.

Taking out her notepad, Shizu questions her. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is available to us, at least from what you have seen so far?"

"I'm actually just finishing up, so you came in at the perfect time," Samia claims. "We actually have a lot of medicine here. It's a little surprising, and I'm incredibly doubtful that we'll ever need most of this stuff, but it's nice to have, just in case. Some of this stuff, though…" She trails off, her eyes narrowing as she crosses her arms.

"Not strictly medicine then." Shizu hazards a guess.

Samia snorts. "No such luck, I'm afraid. I'll start with the good news, though." She gestures to the counter cabinets. "Most of the stuff in there is for anyone who wants to play doctor. Surgical gloves, face masks, goggles, scalpels, hair nets… Most of it is in bulk, so we aren't going to run out any time soon. There were also some hospital gowns folded up in there." She pauses and tugs on her hijab nervously before continuing. "…I also found a few coroner's kits in there. I sincerely hope that we will never have to use them, but, if we're ever unfortunate enough, then we have help dealing with it."

The infirmary gets silent as neither of them want to say anything. Shizu's mind races and eventually comes up with, "...I see. If it is not too much trouble, might I ask you to keep the kits a secret? Even from Michio?"

Samia considers her proposal. "I'm going to need a reason for that. It's not a good idea to keep secrets from the rest of the group when it comes to public matters."

"Normally, I would agree. However, as much as I hate to admit it, those kits may very well be helpful in the near future. I know that, if I wished to up my chances of escaping, I would do something to sabotage those kits. If the others are not made aware of their existence, then they may not do anything about them." Her plan does have some holes, but

Thinking over this idea, Samia eventually says, "Everyone can still explore this room as much as they want. They could still find them on their own and destroy them."

Shizu already has a counter prepared. "Yes, which is why I am also going to ask you to take one of these kits back to your room for safekeeping. I will be doing the same. That way, if anyone does anything, we will have backups. Even if you do not agree to keep them a secret, I still think that we should keep a few of them safe."

"…Okay," Samia relents. "For now, I'll go with you plan. If we are doing this, then there are few… other... things that I think we should keep secret as well." She points to the cabinet that she just finished going through. "There are a variety of medicines, pills, and cough drops in there. Most of them are for mild illnesses, like sore throats or headaches. However, some of them are for nighttime use, and I found a few bottles of pills meant to help with sleeping specifically. I'm guessing you'd also like to hide those away."

"The sleeping pills? Maybe." She goes through a few scenarios in her head. "Yes, I believe that would be wise. There are other, less-potent medicines available from the sounds of it. If someone truly needs help falling asleep, they can use one of those."

Samia nods. "I thought as much. In that case, I'll put them in the back. They may be useful for something eventually, and I highly doubt that Monokuma will let us throw them away." Scowling as she says his name, she moves onto the mini fridge, the last container in the room. "The fridge also has a lot of medicine, although most of it's in liquid form. We also have a lot of blood bags. I checked all of them, and they're all O-negative. We won't have to worry about getting the wrong type if something goes horribly wrong."

"That is unusually kind for the circumstances," Shizu ponders. "However, Monokuma may be hoping that we will be too late for the blood bags to be useful…"

"…That seems really likely, because there are also several bottles of poison in there." Having admitted this, Samia looks at the floor, a bitter expression on her face.

It's not unexpected, but the confirmation still hits Shizu fairly hard. "We are definitely not telling anyone about that. Hide that stuff away as well."

"I've already done that. I know how dangerous poison is," Samia says, crossing her arms. At that moment, her stomach lets out a loud growl.

Shizu moves things along quickly. "Well, thank you very much for taking inventory. I know you did it for yourself, but I am very grateful that you shared this information with me."

Samia shakes her head "I'm going to share it with everyone anyways. Well, I was going to tell them everything, but, since you were so insistent…"

"I can hardly see how most of these things could be used in everyday life, especially in our new everyday lives. They will still have access to the most important medicines, after all. Why would they ever need to use poison?" Shizu defends herself.

"They shouldn't," Samia explains, "But that doesn't mean that they still won't be upset once they find out we've hidden it. Even with the best of intentions, there's a danger to thinking that you know better than those you're supposed to protect."

Shizu agrees. "Of course. At the same time, a great deal of that stuff is meant explicitly for harm. It's not as though its main purpose is for helping people. The only exceptions are the coroner's kits, and we're merely keeping backup copies."

"If I didn't agree with you, then I would argued more," Samia points out. "I think your ideas are fine. I'm just warning you about going too far along that path."

Shizu thinks back to Sawako's idea to block off the storage room and shakes her head. "I will endeavor to never forget that."

Samia's stomach growls loudly again, interrupting them both. A faint blush is visible on her cheeks, and she says, "I don't suppose you'd like to go to breakfast now?"

"No, we have spent enough time in here for now. Eating sounds good right about now." Holding the door open for Samia, Shizu then follows in step next to her, using the time to think back over their talk. "Forgive me for sounding intrusive, but you have a lot of knowledge about security and protection. Does that relate at all to your standing as an epidemiologist?"

Laughing a little, she answers, "Partially? Not everything I do is related to my talent. I'd never get sick of it, of course, but I do need some hobbies and breaks. Up until I got captured, I was spending all of my time working on my PhD, so I definitely need something else to do."

"PhD?" Shizu repeats, a little surprised. "How on Earth did the Ultimate Initiative manage to snag a PhD student? I would have figured that relocating to Japan would have put a major dent in your research, especially considering your talent." She then realizes her mistake. "I apologize. I just assumed you were foreign because of your name."

Samia sighs. "No, I'm from Tunisia, so I did have to immigrate. Even so, I needed the funding that the Initiative was providing. A doctorate doesn't come cheap. All of the time and effort I put into my research would have been lost anyways if I hadn't gotten the opportunity. Also, there's some sunk cost fallacy stuff in clinging to a sinking ship, I suppose."

"That is rough. I can't imagine having to leave home for job related reasons. I hope that your research was going well, at least." It's only a little comfort, but it's all she has to offer.

"Thank you Shizu." Samia sounds genuine, so she probably succeeded. "To be honest, I miss home a lot. I can't say that it didn't have a lot of problems, and I've been able to do my research much more effectively here than I could back in Tunisia. I left behind a lot of problems, and I've only been getting more aware of that as I've spent my time here."

Their conversation is cut short since they've gotten to the dining room. It's a little too loud for them to hold a personal conversation, so they both silently agree to stop talking at that point. Most everyone else is already sitting down and eating, too engrossed in their own activities to notice them. Soraru does perk up when the doors open, but xe give an annoyed look when Shizu immediately sits down at the table. She has some notes to go over first.

Samia gives her a look. "I hope you aren't planning on eating paper for breakfast."

"Cereal basically tastes like paper, so you're halfway to a balanced meal," Michio jokes.

Hachi hits him lightly. "Nooooo! Cereal tastes really good! I love the honey flavored stuff. You're just being mean."

In spite of this, or maybe because of this, Michio continues. "No, I'm serious! Plus, if you pour in some milk, it's basically soggy paper."

As Hachi looks betrayed, Sawako lifts her up and places her back in her seat. "Please, no violence at the table. Eating is a peaceful time."

Chouki mutters something under his breath. Shizu catches something about honey and milk being… bad? She can't actually make out the words, as she's too engrossed in her notes.

* * *

 _Conversation with Samia Bahouri (1)_

 _\- Besides me, only person I know who is familiar with everything in the infirmary_

 _\- Will also have coroner's kit on hand in case of emergency_

 _\- As suspected, foreigner, from Tunisia originally_

 _\- Believes in keeping public informed and very against ruling bodies deciding they know better (probably experienced with tyranny or controlling governments)_

 _\- Old enough to be working full time on her PhD_

 _\- Does not seem completely fond of Ultimate Initiative_

* * *

The doors open once more, and she catches a glimpse of Joshua hurriedly entering. He looks a little tired but mostly anxious. "Ugh, I didn't want to be late again. Sorry everyone." Most people just wave him off or assure him that he's fine. Rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, he makes for the kitchen.

Shizu is suddenly keenly aware that Samia is looking over her shoulder at her notes. "…Do you need something?" she asks, angling her notepad to hide its contents.

"Were you taking notes about me?" Samia sounds a little apprehensive.

She defends herself. "I take notes on everyone. It helps me remember things."

Before Samia can respond, a loud crashing noise rings out from the kitchen. Instantly, Sawako is on her feet and rushes inside. Everyone else follows shortly, save for a laughing Soraru.

Joshua is laying face first on the kitchen tile, having collided with the countertop. There's a bowl on his head and his clothes are soaked in juice. His groans confirm that he's still conscious, though in a bit of pain.

As Sawako moves to kneel next to him, she slips a little but regains her balance. She continues, unfazed. "Joshua, what happened? Are you in a lot of pain?"

Samia moves over to him as well and nearly slips. She stares at the tile for a moment before sitting on Joshua's other side, removing the bowl from his head, and checking for injuries. "Can you hear my voice at all? Is it muffled?"

"Ugh…" he groans. He attempts to push himself up but slips. He almost crashes face first into the floor again, but Sawako manages to grab him before that happens. "I think I just ate shit for a second there."

From the other room, she hears Soraru cracking up even harder. Then, xer chair squeaks and xe pushes xemself into the kitchen, leaning against door frame. Through xer laughter, xe manage to get out, "Hey Joshua! You should really be more careful. Can't have you slipping up like that!"

Several people groan. Shizu takes that as a confession. "Soraru, apologize."

Xe plays dumb, scratching xer head. "Huh? Why? I didn't think my pun was that bad…"

Fumika rolls her eyes. "Don't play dumb. You know what she meant."

"I mean, it's pretty obvious that you were the one who slicked the kitchen floor," Michio says.

Kazuha adds, "Yeah, you were the last one in there anyways. I thought you were taking an awfully long time to make toast."

"Do not attempt to say that the floor is not slippery either," Morgan intones. "We have already seen others stumble with our own eyes. This was no folly."

Even while checking for Joshua's injuries, Samia manages to say, "And you were laughing up a storm there, like you already knew what happened."

With everyone ganging up on xem, xe sighs and pouts. "Aw…. You guys are no fun. I just wanted to lighten the mood a little…"

Pal puts a hand on xer shoulder. "Next time… consider a prank that… is not physically harmful."

By this point in time, Joshua has managed to get into a sitting position against the counter. "Nah, it's all good. I'm not hurting too badly." He pauses, as if thinking something over, and then goes with it anyways. "Guess I really fell for you joke, huh?"

More groans resound, but Soraru looks really pleased. "See? Joshua isn't mad. I didn't do anything wrong."

Joshua looks down at his soaked pajamas and makes a face. "Kind of sucks that my clothes are all juicy now… I don't really have a place to wash them off."

"Huh? But I thought the laundry room just opened up?" Hachi scratches her chin.

His eyes widen. "Oh really? Nice. Guess it doesn't matter at all then."

Soraru hmphs. "I put a lot of thought into my pranks."

"Yeah, about that…" Fumika averts her eyes. "There's a bit of a problem with using them right now."

"I'm afraid that I've already claimed them. You will have to wait a while," Morgan elaborates.

Out of everyone, it's Kogi who voices his surprise first. "You actually managed to use all of those washing machines? Last I checked, only two were in use."

"I mean, only two of them work," Kaixi points out.

Michio balks at that statement. "What's the point in having all of them if we can only use two? Aesthetic purposes? Is Monokuma just making fun of us?"

"Guess I'm going to have to wait, then," Joshua says, shaking his head. "If it's okay with everyone, I'd like to go change out of these clothes now. It's starting to get kind of sticky. I'm going to need another shower at this rate."

Supported by both Sawako and Samia, he slowly rises to his feet and makes his way away from the slippery portion of the floor. His clothes kind of drip on the way out, and everyone scoots out of his way to avoid getting hit. With the excitement having died down a little, they slowly trickle back to the dining hall to finish eating. Shizu stays behind to get something to eat. As the doors are swinging shut, she hears Michio say, "You'd better make sure you clean up that mess, Soraru."

After that, breakfast is uneventful. Samia and Sawako return after a few minutes, though Joshua never manages to rejoin them. For what it's worth, people do seem to be in better spirits after Soraru's prank, so something good might have come out of it. Though, in the end, xe is forced to stay behind and undo xer handiwork.

Once Shizu is done eating, she makes a trip to the infirmary to grab a coroner's kit before she starts heading back to her room. There were still a few clocks left to set, and she'd like to get that done before she forgets. It's unlikely that she'll need all of them, but you never know. On her way back, she runs into Joshua, who is still a little wet from his shower. She quickly hides the kit behind her back.

"Yo, Shizu!" he greets, seemingly unaware that she's holding something. "Done eating already?"

"Most people are," she confirms.

He tugs on his beanie. "Aw man, really? I'm really bad at this whole "getting places on time" thing."

"In your defense, you did have to change clothes and clean up. You were mostly on time as well. You arrived shortly after I did, at least." She has no idea if she and Samia were late, however, so it's little comfort.

"Same result though. I'm still eating alone in the end." He shoves his hands into his pajama pants' pockets.

Shizu says, "If you want company, I believe Soraru is still there, fixing xer mess."

"Oh shit really?" He seems to have ignored her sarcasm. "Sweet! I should head over there before xe leaves then! Later Shizu!"

She watches him run off, a bit perplexed. Is he really that eager to spend time with the person who just pranked him? Whatever the case, she has more important things to consider, so she makes no other stops on her way back to her room.

She spends about half an hour setting the rest of the clocks and then making sure that she hadn't made any mistakes with the ones she set previously. Once satisfied with her work, she takes out her notepad and begins marking where exactly she wants to put all of the clocks. With a plan in mind, she opens her door and begins dragging the boxes out with her.

Immediately, she comes to a screeching halt when she notices Tsubame exiting her room at the same time. Tsubame's face lights up, and she comes over to Shizu's room. "Hello Shizu. Is everything going well for you?"

"About as well as things can go," she grunts. "Can I help you with something?"

Tsubame tugs on her braid nervously. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you…"

Shizu quickly undercuts this idea. "Believe me, it would be a bigger hassle to ignore you and have to wonder about what you wanted. You have no reason to apologize."

Tsubame opens her mouth to say something but immediately stops. From the look of things, she was about to instinctively apologize again. To her credit, she gets to the point shortly after this. "You've had this determined look on your face these past few days. I didn't see you at all yesterday after breakfast either, and I was worried that you might be overworking yourself."

"It was more busywork than anything else." She looks back at the boxes. "I appreciate the concern, but there is no need for alarm."

"That's good." Tsubame also takes the time to check out the boxes. "If it's not any trouble, could I ask what you were doing? Those are some pretty large boxes."

"I was setting the time on a nearly endless supply of clocks." Shizu internally shudders when she thinks back to how long she spent working. At the time, it hadn't seemed like much, but going back to check all of them put things in perspective.

"Oh, were you planning on setting them up everywhere?" Tsubame asks cheerfully. "That's a really great idea. Thank you so much. It would help everyone plan out their days better."

"It's no trouble," Shizu denies. "If I wasn't going to do it, then I bet that somebody else would have. After all, anyone could go into the storage room and look for clocks."

Tsubame shakes her head, her braid swinging as she does so. "But you were the first person to think of that idea, so I would still like to thank you. I think it shows how thoughtful you are."

"I would think that my note taking habit would clue you in on that more than me putting up a bunch of clocks." Shizu taps her blazer pocket where she keeps her notepad.

"That's not quite what I meant." She shuffles in place as she tries to find the right words. "Even if this isn't the case, your notes seem more for your own benefit. That isn't a bad thing, by the way. It's just… a thing, I guess. You may be taking notes to help everyone, but only you can see them, so it feels slightly strange to count that. However, everyone is going to benefit from having the time of day available in every room. Plus, you are doing this without anyone asking you to. I think that is something truly commendable." Throughout her speech, her eyes have been burning with a happy determination in them. "Oh, I'm sorry if that sounded condescending. I really am grateful that you thought about doing this."

It certainly was more than Shizu was expecting, that's for sure. "It sounds as though you have been thinking about my actions for a while now."

Fidgeting in place, Tsubame gasps and covers her mouth with her hands. "Oh no, I hope I don't sound like a stalker. I just meant to compliment you!"

"No, it was just an observation, not a critique on your character," Shizu attempts to calm her down.

It manages to work, since Tsubame starts breathing a little slower. "I see. I'm so-" She pauses and then smirks. "No, I am _not_ sorry."

That gets Shizu to laugh. "That's the spirit. You're learning already."

"It helps to learn who people are and what they like. You've made it abundantly clear that obsessive apologizing is annoying to you, so I will do my best to accommodate."

"And I'm assuming you're doing this for everyone, correct?" Shizu prods.

"It would be rude to not do so," Tsubame confirms. "Some people do require a bit more… maintenance? Does that sound rude?" Shaking her head, she keeps explaining. "Anyways, it's worth the effort to help people feel at ease. I always enjoy watching people interact and go about their lives. So, it's the least I can do to make sure that they feel as comfortable as possible."

"That's quite a goal." It may be necessary depending on how things pan out as well, though Shizu doesn't want to put too much pressure on Tsubame. Not when she's

Tsubame bows her head bashfully. "Like I said, it's the least that I can do. Oh, speaking of which, would you like any help with those clocks? If it would not be too much trouble, I could take a few and put them up for you."

Pondering this offer, Shizu decides to accept. "…That would be a great help, actually. I would need to explain where to put them, though."

"If you are willing to take the time, then I am willing to place the time." Giggling at her own lame joke, Tsubame leans in to get her instructions.

The goal is to place one clock in each room that's currently open. The only exceptions are the pantry and the freezer. It feels redundant when the kitchen and dining hall would both have one. They also plan on placing clocks in the elevator lobbies and on the walls of the hallways between any two rooms. Thus, no matter where someone is, they should be able to discern the time.

Tsubame elects to handle the entire second floor. Shizu, on the other hand, takes the third and fourth floors. It's not exactly an even split, but it ensures that they will not cover the same ground. They agree to meet in the lounge when they both finish. If Tsubame runs out of materials, the boxes should also be there for her to restock.

Their plan now set, Tsubame grabs a large stack of clips and clocks and heads off to the elevators. Shizu stays behind for a minute to prepare herself for the task of carrying the boxes again as well as so that she can jot down some notes again.

* * *

 _Conversation with Tsubame Watari (1)_

 _\- Despite shyness, very eager and willing to work with others and learn more about them_

 _\- Ardent people watcher, probably watches others as much as I do_

 _\- Claims to slightly adjust self to suit different social situations, perhaps slightly involuntary thing despite clear knowledge of this_

 _\- Helping me set up the clocks, so, if something goes amiss on the second floor, I know who to blame (shouldn't be an issue, but you never know)_

* * *

Shizu's work goes a bit faster than she expected it to. With Tsubame's help, she has an entire floor that she doesn't even have to consider. She finds that it takes a fair number of clips for each clock, as the clips aren't particularly strong. However, she has enough materials to work with. A few people pass her by as she works. Fumika walks past her as she works on the third floor elevator lobby, only stopping to figure out what exactly she's doing. Hachi stops by a little later on her way to her room but leaves quickly when she realizes that Shizu is working. Kogi is in the storage room again, looking at the missing boxes. He raises an eyebrow when he sees her holding a clock, yet he doesn't say anything. When she leaves, she can feel his gaze on her back.

Her task is eventually done, so she relocates to the lounge to rest and wait for Tsubame. There isn't anyone inside. Even Chouki, who has taken a liking to the fish, is nowhere to be seen. It makes for a relaxing atmosphere. Stretching out and yawning, she relaxes on the couch.

Ironically, she's not aware how much time has passed, but she eventually hears someone at the door. Could it be Tsubame? Rotating her neck for a better view, she's very shocked to find Takumi standing there, clutching his forearm in a vice grip.

They simply stare at each other for what feels like an hour. Then, she breaks it. "…I take it that you need something important, yes?"

Takumi looks like he wants to say something sarcastic but bites his tongue. A few gurgling noises emit from behind his bag mask, but he finally spits out, "…I was looking for Hachi and Kazuha."

"Well, as you can see, they are not here." She gestures to the empty room.

"I'm not blind!" he instinctively shouts. "Just because I have a bag on my head doesn't mean that I've suddenly lost all of my peripheral vision! Gah!" He clutches his bag, and it crinkles in his grasp. "This isn't what I wanted to talk about anyways. Why does this keep happening? Ugh…"

This is an interesting development. She resists the urge to pull out her notepad. "If I may be so bold, what exactly did you want to talk about? I can't imagine that they would be particularly pleased to see you at this point in time."

He stomps his foot. "Look, that's exactly it. I know I messed up, okay? I know I flew off the handle yesterday. But I was really stressed out and they weren't making things any easier, you know. I just wanted to try to say that I'm sorry to them."

She can't stop herself. "If this is how you plan on apologizing, then you may want to rethink your strategy."

"W-what are you talking about? You're the one riling me up right now!" He points towards her accusingly.

"…No, you're right. I do apologize for that." Shizu is aware that she wasn't being as polite as she could have been. Certainly, Tsubame would be better in this situation. Still… "However, my point stands. Kazuha and Hachi are both very nice, but they are also just people. After your confrontation with them yesterday, they may be on the defensive if you try to talk to them. Best intentions or not, it is entirely possible that things could quickly go south if you lose focus after a few harsh words."

"I know! I know, okay?!" His fists are as tightly clenched as his eyes. "Why do you have to keep criticizing every little thing I think or do? I know it's not going to be easy, and I don't even want to be doing this. So why are you trying to stop me? Do you not want me to apologize or something?!"

"Of course I want you to apologize," she states. "Calm yourself."

"I am calm!"

In the aftermath of his shout, Takumi realizes exactly what he just said. He grips his forehead through his bag and slouches against the doorframe in a mixture of embarrassment and exhaustion. Silence fills the room once again.

Shizu knows that she's definitely not been helping the situation at all. As strange as it sounds, she should take a leaf out of Takumi's book. "I truly am sorry for contributing to all of that. I do know that my words were not helping the situation at all. Even if I meant the best, I certainly was not acting that way."

Still leaning, Takumi manages to spit out. "…Gah. F-fine. It's fine." He shudders and pushes himself up. "I d-don't understand. Why are you so calm? How are you doing this? We just had a shouting match and, suddenly, you've basically reset yourself. It doesn't make sense at all."

"I don't feel like arguing about stuff like this so I made sure that said argument would not continue," she explains.

He groans. "That's not what I meant. How are you acting so calm in a place like this? For fuck's sake, we've been kidnapped by a psychotic bear and told to k-k-kill each other! That's insane! And, somehow, I'm the only person who's taking this seriously! Why isn't everyone else freaking out? How are they able to live their lives like nothing's wrong? Either they're all sociopaths, or they're all stupid. I refuse to think that I'm weird for being afraid."

Thinking back to the conversation she had with Michio yesterday, she adjusts her glasses. "Perhaps it is exactly because we are in this terrible situation that nobody is panicking. The amount of horrible things we were told in such a short period of time was a lot for our brains to handle. Maybe they can't take it seriously, or maybe they take it seriously by refusing to play along."

"And you just expect me to act like that?" he mutters.

"The only thing I expect," Shizu says, "is for you to apologize for yelling at Hachi and Kazuha yesterday. From the sound of things, you were already planning on doing that. Otherwise, you already come to breakfast with the rest of us every day. I can't ask for much more than that."

Takumi doesn't appear to believe her. "I hope you're not expecting me to come to dinner too."

"We do not even have a set meeting time for dinner," Shizu points out. "If it makes you feel better to eat late at night when most people have probably gone to sleep, then, by all means, do that."

"And I'm not going to stop eating my own meals either," he claims.

Shizu scratches her head. "…I'm sorry, I don't understand."

Looking a bit embarrassed after realizing what he blurted out, Takumi says, "You don't understand? I don't understand how you all trust all of the food you eat. Especially not when there's soap in the pantry and now that the infirmary's opened up."

"I get that part, but I still don't understand what "your own meals" entails." She crosses her arms and waits.

"Ugh… I'm not about to eat the same stuff that somebody else has opened up!" he exclaims.

"You mean to tell me that you're wasting food by only eating stuff that hasn't been opened yet?" It's a bit more accusatory than she would have liked, especially given how Takumi flinches. "You know what? It's fine. Monokuma still has to restock, and I will take anything that drains his resources even slightly. You do you."

"…Thank you," Takumi eventually says. "I will."

Then, Takumi jumps forwards into the lounge when Pal suddenly appears behind him. "I heard… more yelling… so I came as quickly… as I could."

"Hopefully quicker than you talk," Takumi murmurs under his breath.

Giving no indication that he heard this, Pal looks at Shizu and smiles. "It appears that you… enjoy… getting into verbal spars… in this room. Should I be worried that… you have claimed this place… as your arena?"

"I think it's more of the fact that we only have about seven rooms open to us, and this is the only one that's suitable for just sitting around," Shizu explains.

Pal chuckles. "How very astute. If I may, I would like… to join in on your… "sitting around", as you called it."

Shrugging, Shizu says, "I have no issue with that."

Takumi looks like a deer caught in the headlights. He instinctively takes a step towards the door. However, after a deep breath, he says, "Yeah, okay. That's fine." For whatever reason, he walks over and takes a seat in the chair on the far side of the room.

"Excellent." Pal joins Shizu on the couch, though he sits a fair distance away. "I hope I have not… stopped the conversation… with my entrance."

Takumi scoffs. "It's not like we were talking about much anyways. Just dumb social anxiety stuff." His voice gets very quiet at the end of his second sentence.

"I see…" Pal taps his foot against the carpet. "That is an… understandable problem… though I cannot say… that I am familiar with it myself. Sirens are… very social creatures… as I am sure you know."

"Wait, what do sirens have to do with anything?" Takumi asks.

Pal smiles. "Oh… my appearance… may be deceiving. I am a member… of the blessed siren people."

This is not exactly a conversation Shizu wants to have right now. While Takumi yells in confusion and Pal tries to explain, she takes out her notepad and begins to write.

* * *

 _Conversation with Takumi Haruko (1)_

 _\- Incredibly paranoid, even considering the circumstances_

 _\- Claims to only eat at night and refuses to eat anything that's already been opened (normally a waste but acceptable in these conditions)_

 _\- Feels sorry for actions but cannot stop self from being paranoid_

 _\- Potentially feels isolated as the only person to take situation seriously (in his eyes)_

 _\- Calm and patience is required to get to know him_

* * *

Her thoughts are interrupted by Takumi saying, "I don't care about all of that! You're clearly human! I don't care what abilities you think you have."

"Do not speak ill… of my people," Pal states, his voice harsh.

"Look, if you were really a siren, then I'm going to need more proof than claiming you draw people in with your song or whatever." Takumi crosses his arms and states sarcastically. "Sirens are aquatic, right? Then maybe go dunk your head underwater and try to breathe."

"Very well then."

To both of their horrors, Pal immediately stands up and makes his way over to the fish tank. Shizu and Takumi share a glance before they both dart after him. When he leans over the tank, they latch onto his arms and pull him backwards. He stumbles backwards and falls into Shizu. Takumi comes tumbling after them. Throughout all of this, the fish tank is thankfully undisturbed from its position.

"What the hell man?!" Takumi screeches as he pushes himself up. However, he does not loosen his grip at all.

Likewise, Shizu yells, "Pal, what were you thinking? You can't be serious!"

"What… is the problem?" His question is stern and honest. "I was… challenged… and I accepted. There was no danger… because I am… a siren."

"No danger?!" It sounds like Takumi is about to have an aneurism, and, for once, Shizu can't blame him.

Giving him a harsh look, Pal states, "You were the one… to suggest this to me… correct? Are you so… fickle… that you cannot keep track… of your own actions?"

Takumi splutters. "I… That was sarcasm, man! I didn't mean for you to… This has to be a joke." He sends a pleading look in her direction.

She attempts to salvage the situation. "Pal, please do not do that again. Perhaps it would not be dangerous to you, but think of it from our perspectives. We do not even want to think about someone drowning, even if that is not a risk."

"I do not think… I fully understand. Nevertheless… I will do as you say," he sighs. "It would not… behoove me… to be struck down… for my arrogance."

There's a small cough from the door. Tsubame looks over the scene, having seemingly finished setting up all of the clocks. "Um… is everyone alright?"

"We're fine, for the most part." It only takes a gentle nudge for Pal to realize that he's still pinning Shizu down and for him to stand up. "Did you need more clocks, or have you finished the second floor?"

Nodding proudly, Tsubame says, "I did as you asked. We should be able to tell the time no matter where we are from now on." She takes another look around. "I didn't interrupt anything important, did I?"

"Only something really stupid. It's probably best that you came in now." Having scuttled back to his chair, Takumi crosses his arms, yet makes no indication that he wants to leave.

"I… see?" Tsubame takes a seat at the couch. "I'm glad it's over with, I suppose."

Pal walks over to the couch as well. "You mentioned something… about clocks. Were you the ones… responsible for setting… all of them up?"

"It was Shizu's plan," Tsubame defers. "You should be thanking her."

Shizu internally raises an eyebrow at that, but explains, "We needed some way to see the time. I hope that you find some use for it."

"I don't see what the big deal is," mutters Takumi. "I never had any issue figuring out the time."

"That would be because you never leave your room," Shizu snarks.

He shoots back. "Does this look like my room?"

"To be fair, I don't think any of us know what each others' rooms look like." Tsubame plays with her braid as she interjects.

Having been thrown off guard with a legitimate comment, Takumi asks, "Huh? Isn't everyone's room the same? Aren't they like hotel rooms?"

"That would be… a reasonable assumption," Pal agrees. "However, we must not… take anything for granted. Even the simplest of things… may prove to be illusions. Odysseus expected his return… from Troy… to be but a simple journey… yet his arrival to Ithaca was delayed… for ten years."

"I don't think that it could be anything quite that drastic," Shizu says, hoping to calm the others down. "However, that is an interesting point. Depending on our lodgings, some of us may have different things provided to us. Perhaps by floor?"

"Would it really be so obvious though?" Tsubame inquires. "I mean, the first thing I would guess is that there's something shared between floors."

Mulling over her words, Pal adds, "It would not… be much of a secret."

A chime suddenly sounds throughout the building. Shizu glances at the clock she had just set up in the lounge. It's only 8 PM, nowhere near midnight. What's going on?

"Attention all Ultimates! This is Monokuma speaking. Please make your way down to the briefing room immediately. Any stragglers will receive a harsh punishment, so you'd better show up. See you soon!"

Takumi's chattering teeth and Tsubame's uneasy shuffles keep the lounge from being quiet, but it's clear that nobody is looking forward to this.

Shizu stands up. "There's no way out of this. We might as well get this over with as soon as possible." She doesn't bother waiting for the rest of them before walking away.

From behind her, she hears Pal's voice. "It appears… we cannot escape this fate." His slow footsteps get overshadowed by the sounds of Takumi scrambling to his feet, desperate not to be left behind.

In the end, all four of them walk together to the elevator. There, they meet up with Kogi and Fumika, neither of whom seems willing to start talking at all. The sound of the elevator moving downwards feels a bit ominous, at least to her. The ding resigns them to their fate, and they all step off, together, yet somehow alone.

Most everyone else is already inside the briefing room. It's a little bit livelier than their group, but the anxiety is palpable. They seem to have converged around Morgan, who is in the process of assuring them that they will be alright.

As Shizu finds a seat near the front, the doors open again, revealing Soraru and Joshua. Neither of them looks too worried. "Huh? What's with mood? Did someone get punished already?"

Joshua stretches out his beanie. "I uh… think the looming threat of something worth administering punishment is what's causing that mood." He bites his lip. "That was almost a logical sentence."

"Too late, no take backs. You have to live with your mistakes," Soraru tuts.

"I mean, my existence is kind of a mistake, so…" Joshua draws out the last syllable.

Xe giggles. "Hey, no fair! I was just about to say that! You're stealing all of my jokes!"

Giving a lazy grin, he sits down near the back. "Sorry, my existence is a joke too, so I've got you beat there as well. Better luck next time."

"Jokes are supposed to be funny," Xe sticks out xer tongue.

"Yeah, well… fuck, you got me there." Both of them start laughing.

"Oh, you're all in good spirits then. Great! I love knocking people down! I'm feeling really pumped now!"

Just as he did a few days ago, Monokuma leaps from behind the podium and lands on it gracefully. "I see you all managed to show up this time." He glares at Joshua, who gives an exaggerated shrug. "In that case, let's not waste any more time. I couldn't help but notice that none of you have died yet."

"We told you that we had no plans on killing anyone!" Sawako shouts.

"Yeah, yeah, save it." Monokuma blows a raspberry somehow. "I figured no one would jump at the opportunity so quickly. That's why I've been preparing a motive for you all!"

…A motive, hmm? It makes sense, but Shizu is alarmed by how natural this all seems to her. She has already been captured while until the "protection" of the government. She really should not underestimate the power that this bear represents.

"A… motive?" Kazuha asks, fiddling with her cap.

Monokuma laughs. "That's right! See, I know that all of you have people in your lives that you care about. So, consider this a hostage situation. If nobody dies within the next three days, I'm just gonna kill them all."

The reveal is completely unceremonious, and Shizu's mind needs a few seconds to actually register what he just said. And, even then, it was so casual, so mundane, and yet so horrible. She has no idea how to react to that.

Chouki, however, seems to have a pretty good idea. "Bullshit. You can't just drop something like that without backing it up. You're totally bluffing."

"Y-yeah, he's right!" Kaixi agrees, though his quivering stance suggests otherwise.

"Oh? Do you really doubt that I'd be able to find all of your loved ones?" Monokuma leers at Chouki.

Fumika cuts in before he can answer. "Of course we don't think that. We're Ultimates. Our profiles are well documented online, and I doubt you'd have to look far to find information about our lives. You did manage to kidnap all of us. However, there's no way you would be able to target our friends and family specifically. You've already captured us. The government would have had to have noticed by this point that we're missing."

"It would be difficult to pull off an assassination under those circumstances," Shizu continues. "They may even be put under protection."

"Exactly. At most, you'd get, like, one or two people before people realize what you're up to," Michio states.

Hachi pales. "B-but one or two people would still be too many!"

"The point is that his plan stinks. If that actually is his plan…" Kogi's voice is hard to hear over the clamor of the others, but she's able to pick it out regardless.

Despite all of the protests, Monokuma doesn't flinch at all. "Well, you wouldn't be wrong. It would be very hard for me to kill a bunch of super specific people. Who has time for that these days?" Suddenly, his grin seems more ominous than previous. "That's while I'll just hit the general area. A few thousand drops of deadly poison in the water supply will probably do it. I'll kill them eventually. It's just like killing ants! You've gotta go right to the source, or they'll never stay dead!"

Chouki actually hisses. "You wouldn't."

"Y-you're going t-to poison my hometown?!" Kazuha shrieks.

Hands trembling, Michio shakes his head. "Not just your hometown. All of our hometowns…"

"You would dare do something so horrible?!" Sawako stands at her full height, yelling with all of her might.

"Well not if somebody dies." Monokuma places his hands on his hips, like a stern parent. "It's like you guys aren't even listening to a word I've been saying."

"I mean, we get that much, I think," Joshua calls awkwardly from the back of the room. "It's the whole "and now you must kill each other" part that's still tripping us up. Er… me up, at least."

"Speak for yourself! I'm not letting him hurt-" Takumi starts to yell.

Kogi interrupts, his expression grim. "And are you going to kill someone to stop that?"

Instantly, the shouting ceases. The tension from their first day is back in full force.

"I can see you all have a lot to think about!" Monokuma laughs. "Well, that's all I wanted to say anyways. If you have any further questions, please consult management. Sweet dreams!" He cackles as he jumps backwards and vanishes from the room.

Before things can get too tense again, Morgan speaks loudly and clearly, authority dripping from her tone. "Listen well, everyone. My vision has not changed at all from the moment we set foot in this building. None of us desire to kill anyone else. We will not fall victim to such hollow traps as this. The spirits are adamant that our loved ones are in no danger. Our fear will be our only undoing, yet it only comes from within ourselves."

They all take in her words. Shizu knows that Morgan is a fraud. She knows that she cannot trust a word that she says. However, she wants to believe that to be true. Perhaps this is Morgan's true talent: the ability to exploit her desires. Then, she internally slaps herself for being so pessimistic. At the very least, Morgan is trying to keep things together. Being a skeptic will help nobody at this moment.

Michio picks up where Morgan stopped. "Morgan is right. We'd be fools to blindly trust what Monokuma is saying. Even if he has the ability to act, we've got no indication that he'll actually do anything."

"H-he doesn't have that ability," denies Kazuha. "If he did, h-he'd have given some proof, right? Like a video or a prized possession, or something, right?"

Sawako clenches her fist. "He is exploiting our anxieties. We cannot fall victim here to something such as this. I won't allow it."

Though a few people, notably Takumi and Chouki, are still incredibly weary, everyone agrees to break for the night. If they keep talking now, someone is sure to step one someone else's toes. Privately, Shizu thinks that it would definitely be Soraru's fault. A few people stay behind, like Kaixi, who clings to Morgan's side, and Hachi, who seems literally unable to move her feet.

Shizu hates the fact that she immediately dives back into her notes. She knows that she should try to comfort others at a time like this because she knows that she can process this much easier than them. However, her notepad calls out to her, and she can't find it in herself to resist its call.

* * *

 _Shizu's Notes_

 _Laundry Room_

 _\- Lots of washing machines and dryers, yet only two washing machines actually work_

 _\- Seriously, what the fuck?_

 _\- Perhaps indicates a rush to get things ready or physical limit to make us uncomfortable_

 _\- Laundry supplies, like pods and dryer sheets, are in the back, so no need to get our own or look in the storage room for them_

 _Infirmary_

 _\- Contains about what you would expect: medicine, blood bags (all O negative), doctor's supplies, hospital beds and gowns, IV drips, etc…_

 _\- Coroner's kits also inside, currently only Samia and I know about them (both of us should have one in our rooms as a backup plan)_

 _\- Sleeping pills also there, though Samia hid them in the back of the tall cabinet, as Monokuma likely would restock them if we dumped them_

 _\- Poison in the fridge, though Samia also hid it_

 _Clock Setup_

 _\- One clock in each room_

 _\- One clock in each elevator lobby_

 _\- One clock in the hallways between every two rooms_

 _\- Tsubame set up all of the clocks on the second floor, so keep an eye out for time inconsistencies_

 _\- Metallic clasps are fairly weak, and clocks could easily be taken down, though only person who might do that is too short to reach them_

 _\- Clasps are back in the storage room for others to use, clocks stay in my room for when more of the building opens up_

 _Loved Ones Motive_

 _\- Monokuma threatened to unleash a deadly poison into the water supply of wherever our friends and family live_

 _\- Provided no physical evidence for his claims, but it is certainly possible for someone with his power to accomplish this_

 _\- Others may check in to verify his claims, so he may provide physical evidence there (should I check myself?)_

 _\- Despite stress, cannot see self getting tempted by this, though must watch others carefully_

* * *

A/N: We have some new rooms to explore and what's this? Our first motive? Our first, very generic, very obvious motive? Who could have seen this coming? ...Sorry, where was I? Ah yes, the chapter. This chapter is a bit longer than usual, but the next one is probably going to be a bit shorter, so I hope that's not disappointing. I feel like I say this every time I write one of these notes... Hopefully, there's enough here to keep you all satisfied. We're almost to the point where someone is going to die, so I hope you've all gotten attached to someone! If not, maybe look back over some of the free time events, pick your favorite, and hope they don't die horribly! It's like Russian Roulette but with less self-danger! In any case, I hope you all have a fantastic day!


	10. Chapter 1: A Different Kind of Prison 04

Beta Read by Lupus Overkill

* * *

Shizu is vaguely aware of the fact that she is awake, but, in an effort to fight it, she pulls up her covers and squeezes her eyes tighter. Desperately seeking the return of her comfort, she freezes her entire body, as if moving another inch will wake her up. Alas, her efforts are in vain, and she begrudgingly reaches over for her glasses.

She takes her sweet time getting dressed. Normally,, she'd say that she's used to this. There have been many times in recent memory that she hasn't gotten a good night's sleep. However, this time, her body doesn't feel heavy, and she doesn't have any aches or pains. For whatever reason, she just can't force herself to move quickly.

By the time she gets herself out of her room, she's wasted a good fifteen minutes or so. By sheer coincidence, she hears another door open right as she's starting to walk away. Turning her head, she finds Sawako looking in her direction.

"Good morning Shizu." Sawako's smile looks a little strained, and her eyes have dark rings around them. "May I accompany you to the dining hall?"

Shizu briefly considers saying no. "We're both going there anyways. Even if I refuse, we'll both take the elevator anyways. We don't have a choice in the matter, unless one of us feels like taking the stairs."

Sawako averts her eyes to stare at the tile flooring. "I suppose that was a silly question then. In that case, I shall follow your lead."

Nodding, Shizu turns back and speed walks to the elevator lobby. A bit taken aback by the speed of her escape, Sawako stares for a moment before following. She needs to sprint in order to catch up with Shizu, though she slows down to match her speed once she's there.

While Shizu presses the button for the elevator, Sawako decides to speak up. "I apologize for the sudden thought, but I wanted to thank you for stopping me from blocking off the storage room. The clocks have been very helpful, and, after giving it a lot of thought, I was definitely in the wrong on that argument."

"It's not a problem," says Shizu, stepping inside and selecting the second floor.

As she does this, the daily announcement chime plays. "Good morning everyone! It's officially 8 AM, so let's greet the morning with a smile, shall we? That's all!" Neither of them acknowledge it.

Sawako, instead, chooses to disagree with Shizu's last point. "I believe that it certainly would have been a problem. As I said before, the clocks are a very helpful thing to have around. However…" She begins to trail off, letting the sound of the elevator dropping fill the void. "I was thinking about what you said in our discussion. About how blocking an area off would lead to increased stress and nervousness."

She has a feeling she knows where this is going. "What of it?"

"Well, the motive we were given," Sawako begins. "I was thinking that, if we had blocked off the storage room, then this certainly would have been the tipping point for freaking out, if not sooner. I was actually unable to sleep well last night. I couldn't help but think of what might have happened if things were more uncertain here."

The elevator dings, and the doors open. Before she steps off, Shizu replies, "I see. Then, I take it you are concerned that someone will attempt… murder."

Quickly catching up to her again, Sawako answers, "It is in my nature and my profession. I believe in everyone as much as I am able to, but I cannot abandon the facts. Even with a motive that lacks direct proof, I have to worry…"

"And what do you plan to do about this?" She's not entirely sure why she's continuing to indulge Sawako, but something about the way she's speaking calls out to her.

"The most that I can do is to make sure that everyone is safe and unwilling to hurt any of the others. I suppose it is similar to what you've been doing these past few days," Sawako responds confidently.

…That last line came out of nowhere. "Hmm?"

"Oh, was I wrong?" Averting her eyes to the metal walls, Sawako mumbles, "Were you not taking notes on everyone to keep tabs on them all?"

By this point, they've reached the dining hall. Shizu pushes open the doors as she answers, "…You wouldn't exactly be incorrect, I guess."

Their conversation gets put on hold when they see the doors to the kitchen swing shut. Someone else must have just gotten here, right before they did. If Shizu had to hazard a guess, judging by the empty seats at the table…

…It's Takumi. She catches a glimpse of his bag before he vanishes into the pantry. Ignoring that for now, she opens up the fridge, takes out some bread, and begins making some toast. Sawako mentions wanting some waffles and goes into the freezer to look for them. Eventually, Takumi comes back out. He gives her a weary look but ultimate ignores her in favor of opening a new box of cereal and pouring it into a bowl.

"…You were serious about not trusting the food then," Shizu finally states.

He flinches at the sound of her voice but responds, "Of course I am. Do you think I'd change things up after what happened yesterday?"

That does make sense, though she's still a bit bothered by his wasting of food. Thus, she attempts another angle of discussion. "Have you apologized yet?"

"N-not yet," he stutters, nearly spilling his cereal. "I wasn't feeling up for talking last night anyways… I'll get on with it later. I'm not that petty."

"Okay then," she says evenly. That's the end of that, as he steps outside the moment Sawako walks back in.

"Was Takumi doing alright?" she asks, putting her breakfast into the toaster oven.

"As well as he can be, considering the circumstances." They both return to silence, waiting for their food to finish cooking.

The breakfast meeting is quieter than it was yesterday, though the reason for that is obvious. At the very least, Joshua and Soraru seem to be in good spirits, so it's never completely quiet. Michio also attempts small talk with just about everyone, though only a few people seem responsive. Shizu is tempted to say that the quiet is nice, but she's not that selfish.

Once everyone goes their separate ways for the day, Shizu makes for the laundry room immediately. She's relieved to find that nobody is using it at the moment, so she's free to claim it for her own. She's starting to run out of clean clothing after all. Thus, she rushes to head back to the fourth floor.

As Shizu gets off of the elevator, she sees Kazuha pacing around the lobby nervously, muttering to herself. She's so distracted that she doesn't even seem to realize or even hear all of the noise that the elevator made, let alone that someone had just gotten off of it. Taking pity on the poor woman, Shizu whistles sharply.

She yelps and looks up from her movements. Holding a hand up to her heart, she says, "Oh, Shizu! You nearly gave me a heart attack there. Is everything okay?"

"I feel like I should be asking you that," Shizu points out. "It looks like you've walking around here since breakfast. There are better places to pace around, you know. For instance, your room. You're much less likely to run into someone there."

Biting her lip, Kazuha groans, "Oh…. I know… But I can't help it. I'm so worried about everything that I can't even think straight. And I wanted to head back to my room, but I couldn't stop worrying, so I started walking and walking and I didn't even realize I was going in circles and I know that's a lame excuse and-"

Shizu grabs hold of Kazuha by her shoulders, snapping her out of her panicked ramblings. "Kazuha, breathe."

"O-okay," she whispers. Closing her eyes, she takes several deep breaths, each one a little longer than the last. Finally, she opens her eyes again. They're still full of worry, but they aren't shaking around in their sockets anymore.

Removing her hands, Shizu says calmly, "Would it make you feel better to get all of this off of your chest?"

"M-maybe? I don't know." Kazuha takes one more shaky breath before saying, "B-but I'll try. I'll power on through it so that you don't need to worry anymore."

It's a rather selfless goal, though Shizu thinks that Kazuha should focus on herself a little more before worrying about anyone else's feelings. "In that case, should we head to one of our rooms to discuss?"

Kazuha shakes her head rapidly. "No way! If we do that, then I might lose my nerve, and there's no way I'm going to let that happen now. Not after I've made my promise!"

Her sudden burst of energy is a little overwhelming. Still, if it's getting her spirits back, then, by all means, Shizu is okay with that. "Very well then. What is on your mind?"

"The motive, what else?" Kazuha states bluntly. Then, she quickly apologizes. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to be so harsh there, I just-"

"It's fine," Shizu cuts her off. "Are you worried about your family?"

Giving a little half nod, Kazuha explains, "I mean, of course I am. Anyone would be worried that their loved ones might be killed. But that's not the only thing. After all, Monokuma didn't really give us a whole lot of proof that he was being serious…" From her tone, it's clear that even she doesn't fully believe her last statement. She starts pacing again. "I'm starting to get more worried about everyone else. Monokuma is really living up to his predator nature."

"What exactly does that mean?" Shizu asks.

Kazuha's eyes widen. "I should really explain that, shouldn't I? Well, basically, think about a lot of herbivores that live together in large groups. They may not be the toughest animals out there. After all, they don't need to eat meat, so they might lack adaptations like sharp claws or lots of teeth for chewing or even eyes placed on the front of their heads. But they make up for their weakness by being together in a large group."

"It's much harder to launch an attack when your opponent outnumbers you." Shizu is familiar enough with that idea, though admittedly in other areas.

"That's right!" Kazuha beams. "A hungry predator can't just waltz on in and start eating. They'd get totally destroyed by all of the other animals in the group, even if they're all running away. It's hard to get a good bite in when you're being trampled to death." Having said this, her grin starts to fade. "But that herd protection relies on all of the herd members being strong enough to work with the others in their escape. The weak, the sick, the young… they tend to get left behind. And those animals are the ones that get eaten because they're unable to protect themselves."

With this explanation, Shizu has a pretty good idea where Kazuha is going. "I see. So, with this motive, you're saying that Monokuma is artificially weakening some of us. By making us worry about the fates of our friends and families, we will be ripe for the picking for a potential killer."

"Yeah, that's part of the issue." Biting the inside of her cheek, Kazuha's tone gets glummer still. "He's not just creating weak prey. He's also inserting a predator. He's giving people a reason to kill. That's obvious though, since that's the whole point of the motive."

"Then you're worried that someone is going to fall for this." It's not a question.

"…I don't want to believe it." Kazuha doesn't even want to say it at all. "But what's going to happen when we're all separated like this? Monokuma hasn't just made some us of weak. He's trying to completely destroy the herd. He's making it so that none of us can ever trust anyone else here ever again, and I hate it! I have no idea what to do." Tears start to form in her eyes.

This is going to require some tact, and Shizu and tact mix very poorly, at least going off of some of her previous conversations. Still, she has no other choice. "I wouldn't say that he's succeeded thus far."

"H-huh?" Sniffing loudly, Kazuha looks up at her.

"We aren't completely split up yet," Shizu explains. "We're all nervous and worried, but, even so, we all still came to this morning's breakfast, did we not? Even the most paranoid among us still trust everyone enough to spend time together. It may be superficial, but unity still exists." She moves on to her second point. "Besides, I don't think you can say that we have been completely united even before the motive came to light. Several people have been very reclusive during those times. I would say that, even though we have been threatened, things are about the same as they were in the previous days."

"Even though things are worse, nobody is acting very differently…" Kazuha mutters to herself, as if saying the words over and over again will unlock some kind of hidden meaning. Finally, she looks back at Shizu, adjusts her cap, and lets out a quick puff of air. "Alright, thank you Shizu. I feel a lot better now!"

"I'm glad to hear it." There's always something a little rewarding about making people feel better.

Clicking her tongue, Kazuha then says, "By the way, you never answered my question from before. There's not that much to do up on the fourth floor. Are you feeling alright?"

Well, that didn't take long. Shizu smiles but shakes her head. "I'm fine. I was just about to grab my laundry before anyone else could use to the machines."

"Huh? Why not just claim them before you walked up here?" Kazuha asks. "I mean, you were on the second floor for breakfast, right? You could just set something down to let people know that you wanted to use them."

"Perhaps, but I don't have many things to set down. All I have is my notepad." She pulls it out of her blazer pocket. "I'm not about to leave this around in an unsupervised location. I suppose I could tear out a page and write a message, but I loathe dismembering my notes in any fashion. It's a mental thing, if that makes sense."

Kazuha isn't done offering up suggestions quite yet. "Yeah, that's completely fine. I don't want you to be worried or anything. But why not just use some of the laundry supplies instead? Like, stick a container of pods on the machine. That should indicate that someone wants to use it, I think."

"That…" Shizu adjusts her glasses, thinking for counterarguments. She finds none. "Hmm… I suppose I didn't even consider that. I assumed that personal objects would work best since they would show who claimed the washing machine. In the end, as long as people know someone wants to use it, that should work. Thank you, Kazuha."

Jumping around in place, Kazuha beams. "Any time! You just helped me out a lot too, so we're even!"

"In that case, I believe I have somewhere to be. I'll see you later." She turns around and gets right back on the elevator.

Before the doors close, Kazuha calls out, "See you later, Shizu!"

Now, she's once more all alone with her notes.

* * *

 _Conversation with Kazuha Kimura (1)_

 _\- Very worried both for herself and others, though mostly about everyone's mental state_

 _\- Talked about predators and hunting instincts_

 _\- Monokuma seems to be using similar techniques to corner us from both sides, forcing some to be weak and others to kill_

 _\- Needs to calm down and stop worrying (not saying that worrying is not a reasonable response, but she's going to make herself break down completely at this rate)_

* * *

When the doors open on the second floor, Shizu is a little surprised to see both Fumika and Tsubame standing there. Now that she thinks about it, this is one of the first times that she's actually intercepted someone else trying to use the elevator. With sixteen people living here, this should probably be at least a little more common.

"Hello Shizu," Tsubame greets. Fumika merely waves, content with remaining silent.

Stepping out into the lobby, Shizu greets them as well. "Tsubame, Fumika. It's nice to see both of you. Are you heading somewhere together?" It seems unlikely, at least given Fumika's standoffishness and Tsubame's nervousness.

Tsubame nods. "That's right. We were about to head to the lounge. It's a nice place to sit and talk, after all."

"It's also the only place to sit and talk," Fumika says, a hint of bitter humor in her voice.

"That too," giggles Tsubame.

"In that case, I will get out of your way." She takes a large step to the side, away from the panel. The doors have already closed, but it's the thought that counts. Probably.

"Would you care to join us?" Tsubame extends the offer and her hand in the same instant.

"You're not that bad, Shizu, so I'd be okay with having you around." Fumika almost compliments her, but, coming from someone like her, Shizu will take it.

Still, she has to decline. "Thank you, but I have somewhere I need to be."

"Are you going to go question someone else?" Fumika asks.

Looking a little surprised, Tsubame leans over and says to her companion, "Oh, she did that to you too?"

Giving a little grin, Fumika says, "She woke me up in the middle of the night to ask me a lot of questions. It was kind of weird."

"That's not-" Shizu attempts to defend herself.

Seeing her panic, Tsubame decides to tease her a little as well. "When I went to check up on her, she forced me to hang up clocks for a few hours."

"I didn't take her for someone that lazy," Fumika laughs.

Frustrated, Shizu says, "As I remember it, you offered to help."

Tsubame's smile fades, and she starts fidgeting on the spot. "I'm sorry. Maybe that was a little too far."

"I think she can take a little joke." Despite her comment, the look on Fumika's face is somewhat guilty.

Shizu sighs. "…It's fine. There's no harm done, so I don't care that much. In any case, I don't want to waste any more time here. Stay safe, you two."

"Take care, Shizu!" Tsubame calls as she and Fumika step into the elevator. Moving Shizu walks towards the laundry room, she faintly hears the elevator doors closing and the rumbling as it moves upwards.

However, that's not the only noise that she hears. As she gets closer and closer to her destination, she continues to hear a low rumbling. By this point, the elevator should be far enough away to not cause any noise. That must mean that, much to her displeasure, someone else has started doing their own laundry. Hopefully, they're only using one of the washing machines.

She pushes open the door to the laundry room to find Kaixi putting something in his backpack. Upon hearing the creak of the door, he swivels around and says, "Hey Shizu! What's up?"

Glancing past him, she's disappointed to see that both functioning machines have started. "…Nothing much. I was about to do some laundry but…"

"Oh no!" He slaps a hand to his head. "I'm so sorry! I just started my loads a minute ago. I had no idea that you were coming, I swear."

"You don't need to apologize," she says. "Everyone needs to start washing their clothes." She inspects the inside of one of the washing machines. "And their sheets, I suppose. This is the function of this room, after all."

Kaixi purses his lips. "Still though, I feel awful about it. We've got limited resources available to us, and I feel a bit selfish taking some of them away from you, even if it is only temporary… Plus, you would have had to drag your stuff all the way down here from the fourth floor. That's way more work than I have to do." Then, he looks behind her, craning his neck to see if he's missing something. "Wait, where's your laundry?"

"As you mentioned, it is a long trip, even if there is an elevator to help move things along quicker," Shizu explains. "I decided that I didn't want to bring my stuff down unless I was certain that the machines weren't in use already. If they weren't, then I would mark them to stake my claim."

"Oh man, now I feel even worse," he moans. "You put all of that thought into your plans, and I just messed everything up. I'm really sorry!"

Adjusting her glasses, Shizu responds, "What are you talking about? Figuring out if someone had already been here was part of the plan. This just wasn't the best possible outcome for me in particular. Besides, this is a public space. You have every right to use it whenever you like."

"I guess…" He plays with the straps on his backpack. "It's just that you put a lot of thought into everything, even something as simple as this, and now I've gotten in the way mere minutes before you could put it into action. It just feels like I'm taking the spotlight off of you…"

"Spotlight?" she asks, narrowing her eyes.

Kaixi scratches the back of his neck. "Err… sorry. I guess that's not really a metaphor you'd be used to hearing on a day to day basis. I'll explain." Clearing his throat, he says, "Well, you know how I'm a sports photographer, right?"

"That is your talent, yes," Shizu states flatly.

He explains, "Well, I'm sort of relegated to being on the sidelines, you know? There's a lot of amazing athletes out there, and, in every event or game or whatever else, they have plenty of opportunity to show their skills. It's my job to capture those moments, so that they can be appreciated forever. But, if I jumped in front of the camera or made myself the focus of those pictures, then that would be a huge problem!"

Well, he's correct in his assessment. However, his explanation is a bit lacking in one area. "…I see. And this relates to the current situation how, exactly?"

Looking at the floor, Kaixi mumbles, "Disrupting your strategy, the thing that you'd most well known for, is kind of like jumping in front of the shot, in a way."

She sighs. "I already told you that you didn't disrupt anything. You're completely fine, so there's no reason to worry."

"Oh, thank you so much!" He clasps his hands together happily.

"That being said, I am a bit curious about what you just mentioned. I agree that good photographers, will put the focus on what's in their pictures rather than on themselves when on the job, unless they are also meant to be in the picture. However, that does not extend to when they show off their work. The way you are talking makes it sound as though you view even that as selfish."

"E-eh? Well, not really, no. I didn't mean to come off that way." Kaixi smiles widely, but it looks a little forced. There's probably enough truth in his words for her to believe him. Still, something is clearly bothering him.

For now, at least, Shizu decides to cut him some slack. "I see. In that case, I apologize for putting words in your mouth."

He gives an honest laugh. "Now who's saying sorry for something trivial? No worries here."

"That's a relief," she says. "I should probably head out before either of us says something easily misconstrued again. Take care, Kaixi." She hears him say something, but it's muffled by the sound of the doors closing. While she'd be interested in staying, she would like to check up on the others in case something happens.

Apparently, he had something important to tell her, as he catches up to her in the elevator lobby. "H-hold up! Please don't just ignore me like that!" he calls out through his pants.

Turning around, she lies, "Oh, did you need something? I didn't hear you."

Skidding to a halt right in front of her, he wipes his brow and answers, "Yeah… Hang on a second…" He pants for a bit before continuing. "Do you have an idea of where you might be in an hour or so? I was going to come get you once my stuff's done washing. I don't think anyone else will handle any of my stuff if it's still in there, so it should be saved for you."

"That's very kind of you, but I am capable of remembering on my own. There's no need to inconvenience yourself." It's a nice thought, after all, but she put up those clocks for a reason.

"Of course! Just wanted to make sure. Sorry for chasing you down like that!" He starts to wave goodbye and walk back to the laundry room.

However, at that moment, both of them hear shouting coming from the hallway to the left. Is something going on in the dining hall? They share a glance before they both run towards the source of the noise. It's a little hard to hear over their footsteps, but it also sounds like the elevator is coming down. Of course, that's not as important as what they heard first. In the meantime, Shizu jots down a few more notes.

* * *

 _Conversation with Kaixi Cheng (1)_

 _\- Overly apologetic, somewhat similar to people like Tsubame and Kazuha_

 _\- Claims to be used to not being noticed due to his talent_

 _\- Something was bothering him about interrupting my plan, clearly felt bad for minorly inconveniencing me yet also agreed that he wasn't being selfish_

 _\- Language used suggests selfishness is an issue though, perhaps being perceived as selfish?_

 _\- Thinks about others a lot, may find excuses to be around people_

* * *

Running towards the source of the noise, they find that it is indeed coming from the dining hall. They see Michio and Morgan converging on the source from the opposite direction. Footsteps also echo from behind them, probably from the people who were inside the elevator.

Michio waves at them, though his expression is grim. "Hey. Any of you know what's going on?"

"How could we?" Shizu asks flatly. "You literally saw us running here."

He shrugs. "Well, maybe you had a guess? I mean, you had your notepad out there. I thought you might have been speculating."

"I believe that I am the one with clairvoyance, not Shizu," Morgan says, though she has a frown on her face. "However, as we are right in front of the source, I do not think that we need to speculate."

"Sh-she's right," Kaixi claims. "Let's just go inside and see what's up."

Nobody has any arguments against that plan. Michio does the honors and opens the doors. The first thing they notice is Takumi cowering on the floor and covered in what appears to be a pie. He has a hand over part of his bag and is breathing deeply. Lying not too far from him on the floor, there is a splattered pie plate. Soraru is glaring at him, unimpressed by something. Joshua stands at the sidelines looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. Shizu needs to do a double take in order to realize that Kogi is also inside, sitting at one of the corner tables.

"Hey!" Michio calls, drawing attention to them. "Anyone want to explain what's going on here?"

"W-what does it look l-like? S-Soraru assaulted me!" Takumi yells through his stutter.

Xe takes offense to that, as xer tone is quite bitter. "Me? Oh come on, how was I supposed to know that you didn't like pie? It's not my fault that you don't have any taste buds."

His grip tightens. "You th-threw it at m-me!"

"I told you to think fast," xe snipes back.

Joshua decides that now is a good time to speak up. "Um… To be fair, you probably could have chosen a better prank target than him."

Soraru whirls around to face him. "And how was I supposed to know who it was? Gotta throw fast or it isn't funny!"

"I mean, you didn't hit Kogi," he points out.

"That's because he's a slippery snake who doesn't make any noise when opening doors. C'mon Joshua, get with the program. And back me up on this." Xe crosses xer arms.

Whistling to get everyone's attention, Michio says, "Okay, let me get everything straight first. So, Soraru, it sounds like you made a pie specifically to throw at someone, and you hit Takumi. Now, he's upset, and maybe you should consider saying that you're sorry."

"Maybe you should also consider apologizing for surprising someone under these circumstances," Kogi mutters from his corner.

Soraru addresses both of them at once. "I'm not going to apologize for art!"

"Um, how exactly is that art? Is that in a post-modern sense or…?" Kaixi's attempts to lighten the mood fall flat.

Morgan speaks over him. "It is clear that this is all a huge misunderstanding. There is no need for us to start getting aggressive with each other."

"Oh… is there… a fight?"

"Hey, what's going on? Is everyone alright?"

"I told you there was going to be trouble."

The doors push open, and a whole group of people rush inside. Kazuha and Tsubame are at the lead, each with concerned expressions. Pal and Chouki step in next, neither one of them looking too surprised. Finally, Fumika brings up the rear, her face unreadable.

"I w-was attacked, and n-nobody is on m-my side!" Takumi screeches, backing further into the corner.

Michio mutters, "I don't really know if I'd call a pie a weapon…"

Waving xer hand to brush off the concerns, Soraru says, "I mean, people say my pies are to die for, but that only happened once. Takumi's just being a meanie."

"Can you really blame him?" Fumika calls from the back of the group. "I'm already not fond of being hit with desserts, and being threatened by a mechanical bear is not helping my mood."

"Takumi is a bit of a delicate case as well," Morgan adds.

Biting the inside of her cheek, Kazuha asks, "But there's no danger, right? It probably only felt that way in the moment, and I know that that's awful, but things should be okay now, right?"

"Does that really matter?" Chouki scoffs. "People are still doing stupid things like this, even during a crisis. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened."

Michio balks. "It's… it's just a pie, though. Sure, it's a dumb prank, but that's all it is."

"Hey, watch what you call dumb!" Soraru seethes.

Joshua waves his hands frantically. "Uh… Maybe now's not the time for this?"

"No, by all means, keep yelling." Chouki rolls his eyes.

Pal admonishes him. "You are not… helping here."

"Is anyone really?" Fumika asks. "This is kind of a complete mess."

Ignoring everyone else, Tsubame walks over to Takumi and kneels down next to him. "You're not hurt, right?" She reaches a hand out to check for injuries.

He flinches as she moves. "G-get away from me!" As he shuffles backwards, his hand slips slightly, and Shizu notices a small tear in his bag.

"O-oh, I didn't mean to… I'm sorry." Tsubame stands up and takes several steps away from him.

"There is… no need for yelling," Pal attempts to placate everyone.

"Yes there is."

Everyone turns to look at Kogi, who has decided to stand up. His expression is flat and unimpressed.

Kaixi speaks up first. "Um… sorry, but what exactly did you mean by that?"

Shaking his head, Kogi explains, "I'd say that now is a great time for yelling. Clearly, nobody here is in complete agreement on how to take this, and this is a trivial thing. We've been captured, told to kill each other, and had our loved ones threatened. And, out of all of that, this is the point that we've decided to argue about."

"B-but it's so stupid in the grand scheme of things. You just said that yourself," stutters Kazuha.

"All the more reason to yell about it, or whatever," Kogi responds.

Balling his fists, Michio argues, "It's putting everyone on edge. Why don't we all just calm down for now and talk about this rationally?"

"What a pain." Kogi pinches his forehead. "I'm tired of just talking about this stuff. That's all that we've been doing this entire time. And lo and behold, nothing's gotten better. All this group effort's gotten us is more fighting. If you want to keep talking in circles, then be my guest. I'm done with this." He shoves his hands in his pockets and walks towards the door.

"Huh? Where are you going?" Kaixi asks as he's unceremoniously pushed out of the way.

Kogi rolls his eyes. "Were you not listening? Away. I'm done with this group." He doesn't look back at all, just goes out of the dining hall and vanishes from sight.

"Gah! Th-that was an option the entire time?" Takumi whines.

"Wait," Michio calls out, but it's too late.

"F-forget it! I'm better off o-on my own!" Just like Kogi before him, though less composed, he rushes out of the room.

Chouki begins tracing the tattoos of his veins. "Figured this would happen. I'm done here too. I'd say it was nice while it lasted, but I'd be lying."

Looking at him sadly, Pal gives a deep sigh. "Are we to take this as… your admission of resignation?"

"Sorry Pal." Chouki shrugs while he too exits. "You tried, but it was a wasted effort."

To everyone else's horror, Fumika is also the next to go. She nearly slips away without Shizu noticing her, but Kaixi calls her out. "Wait! Are you leaving too?"

Now with everyone's attention on her, she looks like a defeated puppy. "Please don't try to guilt trip me into staying… It's not that you're all bad people or anything. I just…"

"You can't help but feel nervous around others right now," Shizu finishes her sentence for her.

"…Yeah, that," Fumika states awkwardly, grabbing her forearm.

"And there is nothing we can say to stop you?" pleads Tsubame.

"…You're a very nice person, Tsubame. Never change." That's all that they get out of Fumika before she disappears through the doors.

There's an awkward silence, but it's quickly broken by Soraru. "Hmph. I can't believe none of you defended me there. I put in all this time and effort, and this is the thanks I get? Jerks. Big Brother would be very disappointed in you all." Xer tone is shaky despite xer accusations. Before anyone else can get another word in, xe sprints off, the doors swinging in the aftermath.

"…Uh, I think that xe's going to be fine," Joshua says, pulling on his beanie. "Xe probably just needs some time to cool off, like an angry loaf of bread or something. I bet you anything that xe's going to show up tomorrow like nothing ever happened."

Shizu raises an eyebrow. "That's certainly optimistic of you, especially after all of that."

And of course it's Morgan that disagrees with her. "I wouldn't be so certain. Fate works in mysterious ways." She clears her throat. "Now then, I believe I must take my leave as well. There are several things that I must consult the spirits about. Have no fear, I will return to you all when the time is right. My safety is guaranteed."

"Oh, then see you soon!" Kaixi yells as she glides towards the exit.

The dining hall feels more empty than it's ever had before, even more than when Shizu prepares her breakfast all alone. About half of their number just split off to fend for themselves, so this isn't a surprising feeling. Shizu still hates the way that her stomach churns.

"Well that could have gone better." Joshua puffs out his cheeks.

Kazuha moans, "This is awful. This is a complete mess. What are we going to do?"

"Whoa, let's not panic now." Michio raises both his hands. "Look, things might seem extremely bad, but I'd say that we're doing well all things considered. After all, there are still seven of us here who want to keep things together. Plus, there are three people who have no idea what's going on, so we can technically bump that number up to ten. We're still a group, and we're still going to make sure that everyone is safe."

"Y-yeah," Kaixi agrees, pulling down on his backpack's straps and standing up straight. "Everything's going to be just fine."

Tsubame tugs on her braid, and the ends start to fray. "But what should we do now?"

Pal offers a solution. "As Michio said… there are others… who are still wandering in the dark… unable to recognize the shadows for what… they truly are. We must… inform them of what has… transpired."

"Right." Michio nods. "Let's all split up and explain the situation to them. We're looking for Sawako, Hachi, and Samia. Try to be a little tactful about it. We don't want more people freaking out."

Having made these plans, everyone goes their separate ways to find the others. However, though Shizu agrees with their plan, she decides to instead head back to her room. They only need to inform three people, so it's not as though she's causing a huge disruption. Besides, she needs to reevaluate her notes with this new development. That's more important in the long run.

She nearly forgets to head back down to do her laundry because she's so invested in her notes. She regrets declining Kaixi's offer, as it's been over an hour. Still, she drags her hamper all the way down to the second floor, too irritated to want to make another trip. Luckily enough, the washing machines are free. The same thing happens again when it's time for her to put them in the dryer. Her mind is racing too much for her to remember something as simple as laundry. Perhaps being in prison has rotted her ability to do basic household chores…

Both times that she goes to and from the laundry room, she doesn't run into anyone. It's not particularly surprising given the past few days, but, this time, it starts to make her feel uneasy.

By this point, she should find some way to set an alarm or something. It's nearly midnight, and her clothes have been done drying for hours now. She should go get them before she falls asleep. Thus, she makes a late night trip down to the laundry room.

However, her elevator trip gets interrupted on the third floor. The doors open to reveal Hachi, who looks very shocked to see that someone else is inside.

"Hachi," Shizu greets.

Hachi gulps. "H-hey, Shizu. N-nice night, isn't it? Just the k-kind of night that makes you w-want to take a stroll."

"What do you actually want, Hachi?" Shizu inquires over the rumbling of the elevator.

"Huh? But I'm not lying?" The fact that she phrased her statement as a question just makes her all the more suspicious.

Shizu decides to take things gently. "I'm not going to yell at you, so please just be honest with me. I don't believe that you're planning on hurting someone, after all."

Biting her lip and glancing at the elevator floor, Hachi mumbles something under her breath. Whatever she said was masked by the elevator's noises.

Shizu gives her a flat stare and straightens her glasses. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't hear you. Could you please repeat that? …Wait, let me rephrase that. Could you please repeat that after we have reached the second floor?"

On cue, the elevator dings, and the doors open. Hachi pales and remains inside. When she hears Shizu tapping her foot, she hurries outside, though her lips are clamped shut.

"I'm waiting." Shizu continues to tap her foot, getting a bit impatient at this point.

Hachi shoves her face in her hands and groans. "Ugh… I was going to get something to eat."

"Hachi…" She drops her annoyance, and her voice is sympathetic.

"Don't look at me like that," Hachi wails. "I know it's a problem, okay. It's super big problem, but I can't help it! Everything's gone from bad, to worse, to worser, and it feels like my heart's going to explode! I need this!"

Shizu holds out her hands and makes calming motions. "Breathe, Hachi. Just take some deep breaths and start over again." It feels like she's been doing this all day, now that she thinks about it. Still, it's worked out so far, so there's no harm in trying it.

Taking her advice, Hachi matches her breaths with the motions of Shizu's hands. Soon, the color starts coming back to her face. "Thank you…" she mumbles.

She shakes her head. "It's no issue. Now, could you please explain why you were coming down here again? You mentioned that you wanted some food, but I thought you took some of your snacks back to your room. Was I mistaken?"

"No," Hachi admits, tugging on the bottom of her shirt. "I kind of… maybe ate through all of them today."

"I see." Shizu makes no judgments. "Then, am I correct in guessing that you were going to the dining hall to restock?"

"Maybe? I don't know. I just know that I needed some honey or I'd never calm myself down." Hachi pouts.

That's an interesting thing to note. "Honey specifically? Is that a home remedy that I am not familiar with?"

"Honey's the best!" Hachi says, her cheer beginning to return. "It's golden, sweet goodness, and it goes well on almost everything. I love honey so much!" She giggles, "I guess it's a good thing that I'm a beekeeper since I've always got some fresh whenever I want it." Then, she frowns. "Well, almost any time. It's been hard having to readjust to the store brand stuff. And also the midnight dining hall regulations…"

"Yes, I can imagine…" Shizu mutters, more so about the second fact. She remembers having issues during the first few weeks of prison when her mealtimes were regulated.

"Honey makes everything better," Hachi claims. "Even if it only helps a little bit, a little bit is a lot bit when it comes to happiness."

"Well, I wouldn't be so bold as to compare my words to honey, but I hope that you are at least feeling a little better right now," Shizu carefully prods.

Hachi blinks. "Huh. I kind of am? I hadn't even realized." Then, she looks downcast. "Oh… Is that the only reason you talked to me?"

"Of course not," Shizu quickly denies. "I enjoy talking to everyone. Learning about people is one of my hobbies, so to speak. For instance, your love of honey has been duly noted. However, if it comes with the added benefit of increasing morale, I will not shun that. Besides, most friendly conversations have a similar effect. I sincerely hope that friendships would not come crashing down upon such a realization."

"Friendships…" Hachi trails off before looking at Shizu directing in her eyes. "Shizu, are… are we friends?"

Shizu closes her eyes. In this scenario, honesty is probably her best bet, at least to avoid future issues. Still, she should put it tactfully. "I am not the type of person who forges friendships easily. I do not think that I would consider anyone here my friend, especially when it hasn't even been a week since we've all met. That being said, I enjoy talking with you and your company, so please don't take this the wrong way."

On the contrary, Hachi looks ecstatic. "No, no, that's super duper touching! Thank you so much!" Shizu finds herself being pulled into a tight hug. It's not uncomfortable, per say, but she hadn't been prepared for it. It only lasts a few seconds before Hachi pulls away. "I'll make sure to work extra hard so that we can be friends!"

Shizu smiles. "I look forward to it. I'm glad that you're feeling better as well."

"Oh, I almost blanked." Tapping her forehead lightly, Hachi asks, "Were you in the middle of something before I distracted you?"

Well, Hachi eventually shared her issues, so Shizu sees no reason to hide her activities. "I was going to fetch my laundry. I meant to do it much earlier, but I got distracted."

Hachi puffs out her cheeks. "Oh yeah, that's totally a problem. Why do we only have the two washing machines? It's throwing everything off. I keep putting it off because I don't want to go there for nothing."

Shizu shares a strategy. "Early morning or late nights are probably a good time. Most people will still be asleep."

"Sometimes, I get super sleepy though. I'll think about it though." She pauses before saying confidently. "I'm going to go back to bed now. I… I can make it through the night. Thank you for all the help."

"Have a good rest." Shizu waves Hachi off and then sets off for the laundry room.

She nearly runs into Kazuha, who is exiting the laundry room at the same time.

"Huh? Shizu? What are you doing up?" Kazuha asks.

Shizu explains, "I left my laundry in there. You probably didn't notice because it's been in there for literally hours."

Glancing back inside, she confirms this. "Oh, I see. I wasn't really paying attention. I just wanted to claim those washing machines before someone else could. I swear that those things are always full. Is there a reservation sheet or something that I missed?"

"Nothing of the sort, I'm afraid. Perhaps in the future…" Shizu ponders.

Kazuha sighs. "Well, hopefully, we'll get more working machines soon."

"…How are you holding up?" It's a spur of the moment question, but Shizu's glad that, for once, her mouth moved faster than her mind.

"H-huh?" she stutters. Then, she takes a moment to recover before answering. "P-pretty well, I guess. I'm up at nearly midnight doing laundry because I can't sleep, but that's about the worst of it. I just need to stay positive."

"You should also stay well rested," Shizu points out. "I know it's bad to leave things in the washing machine overnight, but take care of your mental health first."

Giving a little chuckle, Kazuha teases, "Speak for yourself. You're up too."

"… That I am. Goodnight Kazuha." Shizu says, entering the laundry room.

"Later, Shizu." She calls back.

Shizu flinches when the chime signaling the second announcement plays.

"Attention! It is now 12 AM, and nighttime has officially begun. Sweet dreams!"

It's been a few days since she's heard it play. She's hasn't exactly missed it, but it's just another reminder that she's being kept here. For the first time in a while, she feels like she hasn't left her cell.

* * *

 _Conversation with Hachi Hachimitsu (1)_

 _\- Compulsive stress eater, clearly self-conscious about it_

 _\- Very big fan of honey, may be the reason that she stress eats since she enjoys it so much_

 _\- From the way she speaks, sounds as though she has had issues with friends in the past, maybe either betrayal or completely lacked them_

 _\- Has the ability to cheer up quickly, enviable trait_

* * *

 _Shizu's Notes_

 _Laundry Room Issues_

 _\- May need to consider having a reservation sheet so that people don't fight over who gets to use the room_

 _\- Limited washing machines could be a ploy to make us more uneasy and have more things to argue about_

 _\- For now, claiming machines with some kind of marker seems necessary, unless you use it early in the morning or late at night_

 _Group Split_

 _\- Big catalyst surprisingly not the motive (at least not directly) but one of Soraru's pranks_

 _\- Orchestrated by Kogi, though that may not have been entirely intentional on his part, perhaps Ultimate Protestor talent helped split us up so well?_

 _\- Currently, those isolating themselves are Kogi, Chouki, Fumika, Takumi, Morgan(?), and Soraru(?)_

 _\- Morgan claims she'll be back, while Joshua says the same for Soraru_

 _\- Status unknown for Sawako and Samia_

 _\- Hachi seems to still want to be around others, despite skittishness_

 _\- More important than ever to keep track of people, especially those who claim isolation is best_

* * *

A/N: Hey folks. It seems as though things have finally fallen apart for the group, albeit not yet in the murdery kind of way. The first trial is creeping up closer than ever before, although, now that I think about it, that's been true for every chapter I've posted thanks to the constraints of linear time... Oh well. In any case, this just means that I've decided to put a poll for guessing the first victim(s) on my profile. Feel free to guess. You get two chances, and it's not like you lose anything if you're wrong. It's just a fun little diversion is all. Hopefully, that chapter was enjoyable still. In any case, I hope that you have a fantastic day.


	11. Chapter 1: A Different Kind of Prison 05

Beta Read by Lupus Overkill

* * *

Shizu blinks the sunlight out of her eyes, wincing a bit as her back muscles tense up against the rocky mattress beneath her. She feels around for her glasses, though it's a bit hard due to her sleepy brain and blurry vision. After what feels like ages, she finally manages to get them on her face.

She doesn't want to get up just yet, but she knows that lying down isn't getting her anywhere. Plus, she's no longer able to ignore the pain of lying down now that she's awake. So, she pushes herself into a sitting position and stares forwards blankly. The wall behind the bars of her cell looks cleaner than normal. Someone might have cleaned it while she was asleep. It can be hard to wake her up before the usual time, after all.

It's going to be another mindlessly boring and frustrating day, and a large part of her wants to lie back down. Still, she rubs her back to ease the pain and decides not to pursue that course of action. Although, now she's reminded herself of how itchy these clothes are. Perfect. Just what she needed today.

That's when she notices something truly bizarre. The door to her cell is open. Not just unlocked but completely swung open.

Surely none of the guards would have made that mistake. Sure, it is very unlikely that she would be able to escape the rest of the prison without being spotted, and she wouldn't try that in the first place, but the point still stands. Did they want her to leave?

Now, she's curious. It is highly unlikely that being caught outside of her cell would get her injured, and she's missed the feeling of stretching her legs and actually walking. Thus, she decides to go exploring. After opening her wardrobe and putting her blazer over her prison uniform, she heads out of her cell and into the larger prison area.

How strange. There isn't a single guard on patrol. Her footsteps echo as she slowly walks down the singular hallway. She's barely trying to be stealthy, yet nobody has come out to see what's going on. Is everyone gone?

At the end of the hallway, she spots a large door with golden handles. It gleams proudly, reflecting the light coming from the lamps lining the walls. Without hesitating, she rushes forward and pulls the door open, ready to embrace freedom.

On the other side of the door, she finds her room. Everything is still in place. The comfortable bed, the box of clocks she kept just in case, and even the towel she left out on her bathroom floor. She flops back down onto her bed, sighing deeply as she snuggles deeper into the soft sheets.

…Wait a second.

Shizu wakes up for real this time, eyes wide and sweat dripping down her face. Her back isn't screaming at her, but, somehow, she feels worse than she did in her dream.

This time, she hesitates slightly when putting her blazer on. She knows that dreams are just things that you don't question, but it makes her think. There have almost certainly been things that have been completely obvious yet have been overlooked by her. It doesn't do her confidence any justice.

"Good morning everyone! It's officially 8 AM, so let's greet the morning with a smile, shall we? That's all!"

No one comes out to meet her today. Her journey to the kitchen is unimpeded. While she's grateful that Sawako isn't following her this time, the events of yesterday don't exactly comfort her that much. Being all alone is more unnerving than usual.

It's not all that surprising when she gets to the kitchen and finds it empty. After yesterday, she wasn't exactly expecting Takumi to stick around for breakfast if he even came out of his room at all. This probably means that some of the others who split off won't come out for the morning meeting either.

Michio is the first person to arrive. When he notices her silently chewing on her toast, he sighs. "Morning, Shizu. Anyone else stop by yet, or…"

She shakes her head and takes a particularly vicious bite. "Nope. Just me today."

"Guess that's about what I expected," he groans. "Well, let's see how many people come today before we start freaking out too much."

"Who said I was freaking out?" she asks, a bit of snark present in her tone.

He chuckles. "Not me, that's for sure." Then, he heads into the kitchen.

Not long after this, Sawako and Hachi both walk inside. "Hey Shizu!" Hachi greets with a shocking amount of cheer. "Thanks for all of the help yesterday. I feel like I'm ready to tackle anything today!" Her smile is genuine. The next bite of toast takes just a bit better.

"Oh, did something else happen yesterday?" Sawako asks. "I missed the… well, you know. Was there another which I was not aware of?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just feeling a little down, but then Shizu helped me out," Hachi says as she skips over to the table.

Sawako looks like she wants to say more but blinks and thinks better of it. "I see… Well, in that case, I suppose I must thank you once again for keeping the morale up, Shizu. And, before I forget, good morning."

"Morning," she replies noncommittally.

They, too, go to get something to eat. From that point on, the others start trickling in. Kaixi and Tsubame show up together, discussing some of Kaixi's favorite photographers from the sounds of their discussion. Samia shows up next, looking a little disgruntled with her hijab slightly wrinkled. Perhaps not being present for the great split yesterday put her in a bad mood. Shortly thereafter, Pal appears, his expression as calm as always. He greets everyone at the table individually, as if he's trying to make everyone feel better. Kazuha brings up the rear, her hair frazzled and her eyes surrounded by dark circles. Tsubame rushes over to comfort her, and the two spend a good while in the kitchen. Shizu thinks she can faintly hear tears and tries to block them out by chewing louder.

Eventually, they come back out, and everyone settles into an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the clatter of silverware, the squeaking of chairs, and the chewing of their chosen breakfasts. As Shizu starts to wrap up, Joshua comes rushing inside. "Hey, sorry again that I'm always late. You know how it is." He rubs the back of his head awkwardly. "Aw man, is it that late already that people already left?"

"No, this is all we have today," Samia says glumly while stabbing one of her mini waffles with her fork.

He gapes. "Wait, seriously? They were actually serious about going alone?"

"From the looks of things, that seems to be true." Tsubame sighs. "They aren't even willing to grab something to eat when the rest of us are here. I hope that they aren't starving themselves…"

Leaping to her feet, Hachi shakes her head vigorously. "Uh uh! N-no way! They're gonna come out sometime. They're trying to keep themselves safe, right? Then, they're totally going to make sure that they have something to eat."

"Was that the impression you got?" Samia asks. "I wasn't here, so I wouldn't know."

Hachi blushes. "Um… Actually, I kinda wasn't here either…"

"As I gathered… it was a split decision," Pal states. "Some believed that… they would be better off… without us… perhaps for good. Others merely… wished to be alone… for a while."

"Look, I'm sure everything is going to work out. It's not like this is the last time we'll see any of them," Michio says.

Kazuha swallows. "Y-yeah… I really hope so."

"There is nothing more that we can do. More speculation will only make us more paranoid." Sawako slams her fist onto the table. Several people jump as their plates and silverware go flying into the air from the force of the impact. "They may not trust us, but we should trust them to be safe."

Readjusting his breakfast, Kaixi agrees. "If we give up now, then we'd just be the same as them. …Er, not that they're terrible people or anything, that is…"

"Worrying right now is a wasted effort, as thoughtful as it might seem," Shizu says quietly.

"Yeah, you said it. Never care about anyone else ever again!"

Everyone looks around wildly for the source of the voice, and they eventually find it. Monokuma is leaning against the right-hand wall, a vicious smirk plastered on his face.

Joshua blinks several times in quick succession. "Uh… Do you need something, or are you just here to taunt us?"

"Mostly just the taunting thing," Monokuma casually admits.

"Just get on with it so we can eat in peace," Samia groans.

Tsubame tugs on her braid. "Better yet, please just leave without the taunting."

He just laughs. "Nah, I'm good. Thanks for the offer though. You really gave it your all trying to convince me. You might want to put your efforts into something more productive."

"We are not going… to kill anyone," asserts Pal.

"Oh really? Do I need to remind you of the deadline?" Monokuma's robotic face darkens. "Or do you need to be reminded again how everyone you know and love, along with everything in their general vicinity, will be poisoned to death?"

Sawako scowls. "There is no proof that you have that kind of power."

He sighs. "Hmmph… Well, don't blame me when thousands of people turn up dead. You could have totally prevented this by just believing in me."

"You literally would be the cause of it," Michio growls.

"Oh, is that right? Well, I suppose you would know a lot about dead people, wouldn't you?" Laughing as Michio flinches back, Monokuma says, "Well, whatever. Just remember that I'm going to unleash that poison tomorrow night if a corpse doesn't show up soon. That's all. Have a nice breakfast!" He's gone in an instant after saying his parting words.

The mood at the table has been dampened a considerable amount. Kazuha looks paler than ever, Michio's hands are trembling as he barely holds onto his fork, Hachi is breathing so fast that she might pass out, and Samia looks like she's going to kill her waffles.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm thinking about getting some pancakes. Nothing works up an appetite like being threatened." Joshua pats his stomach in an over exaggerated manner, seemingly oblivious to how everyone else is staring at him.

"…Whatever makes you feel better, Joshua," Shizu finally says.

He grins. "Oh good, I have permission now. Sweet. Pancakes, away!"

A few seconds after Joshua disappears into the kitchen, Michio yells out after him, "Wait, the rest of us need to give you permission too!"

"But what kind of monster would deny someone pancakes?" Hachi giggles.

Pal answers her question seriously. "Logically… a monster… who does not like pancakes…"

"I mean, I guess you're technically not wrong…" Kazuha mumbles, though she still looks a little down.

"Is this a part of Greek mythology that I didn't study?" Tsubame wonders. "Although, I'm not entirely certain that pancakes existed during that period of time."

Michio chuckles. "Not with that attitude, they didn't."

However, from that point onwards, the earlier hesitation and fear have mostly vanished. Joshua's willingness to make himself a fool definitely helped, though Shizu wonders if the fact that the most abrasive people have declined to show up has also improved everyone's mood. As bad as it may sound, some good could have come from the split.

Eventually, though, they all decide to split for the day. Shizu has no real plan today. She could technically go looking for the people who choose to be on their own, but there is no guarantee that they would leave their rooms at this time of day. Besides, attempting to draw them out may only make them more uncomfortable.

Thus, she first heads for the lounge, as she finds that it's a nice place to think. Her room is usually her go to place to do some brainstorming, but physically isolating herself at this junction may not do the group any favors.

It turns out to be a good decision anyways. Nobody disturbs her at all, so she gets a decent amount of ideas written out as well as going back and reevaluating her notes of the previous days. She could probably stay here forever, but she chooses to stop for now. All of that thinking has started to make her hungry.

On her way to the second floor, she runs into Pal, who's looking slightly downcast, as he's walking away from the third floor dorms. He doesn't appear to notice her at first, which means that there might be a bit of a problem on her hands.

Shizu forgoes a greeting and gets straight into the thick of things. "Is something wrong?"

Giving her a sad wave, Pal says, "Greetings Shizu. All things considered… I suppose I could be doing… much worse. However, there has been… a problem vexing me… for quite some time now."

"If you have time to explain, I have time to listen," she offers.

"In that case… I shall make use… of your abilities." Smiling at her gratefully, he starts to explain. "It concerns our friends… who have chosen to remove themselves… from our group. We did not see any of them… during breakfast… and this started to concern me. Perhaps… they are only now starting… to feel the pangs… of hunger. However, what if… they never emerge from their caves?"

Shizu raises an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, but didn't we discuss this earlier this morning?"

However, Pal appears to think otherwise. "I am not talking… about starvation. Rather, I am concerned… about their discomfort. You see… while I am certain they will not… allow themselves to perish… that does not mean… they will not inconvenience themselves… out of fear."

"I suppose that is true. It sounds as though you wanted to do something about it," Shizu guesses.

"I attempted to draw them out… using my siren song… but it was to no avail." Pal clenches his fist. "My innate abilities… as a siren… have failed me. I cannot help but feel… powerless."

Right… Siren stuff. She chooses to latch on to a particular part of his issue. "You mentioned your siren song. You weren't actually singing out loud, were you?"

"Normally, I do not need… to sing in order… to get people to come to me. However…" Trailing off for a moment, Pal bites his lip. "It appears that my power… had no effect… so I eventually attempted… to sing. Even then, there was… no response at all."

"…Have you maybe considered the fact that the dorm rooms are soundproofed? They would not have been able to hear anything going on outside," Shizu attempts to reason. She's a bit surprised that she managed to find a counterargument to something this nonsensical.

Pal hesitates for a second. "Perhaps that… had something to do with it. However, I had hoped… that my powers would transcend… simple obstacles like… the walls that trap us here."

"That is…" Shizu scrambles to take this conversation back to reason, though she's beginning to realize that they may not have even started there. "How powerful do you think your… abilities are?"

After blinking for a few seconds, he fixes his gaze on her, and it seems a bit more intense than usual. "I hope that you… are not doubting… my powers… as a siren. Did we not discuss… this when we first met? Or have you been… attempting to hold back… your suspicions?"

"… I will admit that I am completely skeptical about your claims of being a siren," she eventually admits. "However, I would at least like to know how much you invest in your abilities. I have no frame of reference when it comes to sirens and what they can do other than get sailors to crash into rocks. If it is not too much hassle, I would like an explanation."

Pal scratches his chin as he thinks this over. For the first time, Shizu notices that his fingernails are incredibly long and sharp, almost claw-like. Did he let them grow out to further his delusions? Finally, he nods. "I normally do not like… when people question my… heritage. However, in a place… such as this… there are far more… chilling concerns than this."

Shizu sure hopes so. She takes out her notepad and taps her pen against the page experimentally. "I'm listening whenever you're ready."

"My siren powers allow me… to make myself… well known to others," he begins. "Even those… who are aggressive… or do not wish… to be around others… find themselves entranced… by my presence. The opposite… is also true. When there is trouble… to be found, I… find myself drawn… to those areas."

"…I see." Thinking back to the past few days, Pal has popped up out of nowhere during some of the more tense moments. Linking that back to superstition is a bit of a stretch. "Is there something physical that draws you to these places, or do you just find yourself there without really noticing anything?"

"There is… a bit of a feeling… that I get. I am not usually… sure what awaits me… but I rarely find it to lead me astray," he says, with only a little hesitation in his voice despite his pauses.

"In that case, was this same feeling the one telling you to try to draw out the others?" she asks.

"Yes. I got the sense… that something was amiss. Perhaps… someone had left… their room… or they were about to," Pal muses. "However, I did not even… hear a door open… in my time spent… singing. I am forced to wonder… if it is a problem… with me."

There are a good many ways that Shizu could answer his query, but she decides to go the polite route. "It could be that your nerves have gotten the better of you, and you are mixing up signals. This is a situation unlike any we've experienced before. At least, I sincerely hope that is the case. Don't doubt yourself too much."

"I am trying my best… but there are some things… which I cannot ignore…" He clenches his fist again, and she winces when she sees his nails dig into his skin. He seems more bothered by his helplessness than any possible pain, however.

She clicks her tongue. "What will you do then?"

He sighs. "The only thing that I can… I must keep trying… perhaps on the second floor."

Tapping her pen against the paper, she says, "In that case, I wish you luck."

"Farewell… Shizu…" Pal waves goodbye and slowly walks away, his odd gait audible thanks to the echoes.

Shizu looks down at the mess that is her notes on Pal and groans. No matter how long she spends around him, she can never quite get a good read on what he's thinking.

* * *

 _Conversation with Palaemon Katsaros (1)_

 _\- Delusions of being a siren are still as strong as ever_

 _\- Claims to be able both to attract people to him and to be drawn to conflict_

 _\- Seemingly believes that he can stop fights, which is perhaps why he relies on his instincts to seek out issues_

 _\- Insulted when people question his siren "heritage"_

* * *

 _How is he actually able to appear whenever something is going down? Is it all just coincidences? Or am I fooling myself into seeing a pattern that isn't there? Possibility of other conflicts that I am not aware of_

She spends longer going over these findings than she meant to. Her stomach growls in protest, yet she keeps on going. She only stops once the growling ceases, giving her a sign that she really needs to get something to eat. Thus, she packs things up and heads for the dining hall.

As she approaches, she hears the sounds of someone cooking inside the kitchen. Shizu's never stopped by for lunch on previous days, so maybe one of the others usually eats at this time. Well, company is usually welcome.

…Oh. It's Soraru.

The tiny baker is humming to xemself while xe drums xer fingers on the kitchen counter. Xe's staring at the oven, where a cake is almost finished. When the doors open, xe turns xer head to look upside and see the intruder. "Oh hey, it's you. Hope you weren't planning on oven-ing anything today, because I've got this place booked!"

"…What are you doing here?" Seeing xer gleeful expression, Shizu hastily adds, "I don't mean your activity. I can clearly see that you're baking, and you know it. Why aren't you in your room?"

Xe puffs out xer cheeks. "Hmph. I didn't realize you all claimed a monopoly on the kitchen."

"You literally just did that with the oven," she points out.

"Well duh! You can't put more than one thing in this oven. What, have you never baked anything before in your life?" Soraru rolls xer eyes. "Sounds like your knowledge is… half-baked." Then, xe hi-fives xemself.

She narrows her eyes. "I can't help but notice that you've avoided my question. Why are you in here baking something? Just the other day, you claimed that you didn't want to be around the rest of us. Are you so fickle that you've changed your mind this quickly?"

"Huh? Do you really want me gone that badly?" Soraru sniffles and puts on a pair of weepy doe-eyes.

"I want an answer," Shizu growls.

Bending xer head back up to a normal position and swiveling around to face her direction, xe says, "Fine, fine. Just give me a second. I need to let all of the blood rush back to my head."

She feels her eye twitch. "I have given you several seconds. Answer. Now."

Xe takes a few more moments to roll xer head around xer shoulders before answering. "Pushy, pushy. See, this is why I didn't want to be around you all. You're all a bunch of jerkfaces. Well, most of you are. Enough that I didn't see a point in sticking around. So, I didn't. And, technically, I'm still not. Do you think I really expected someone to show up right now?"

Shizu shakes her head. "That wasn't what I had an issue with. I suspected that, at some point, the people who left would show up in some capacity, especially when they needed to eat. However, I did not expect anyone to come out of hiding just to start baking. That's time consuming and raises the chances of being found. So, why take that risk?"

"Well…" Soraru draws out the single syllable and starts drumming on the table. "I was… stress baking!" e throws flour out of xer apron pocket and smiles proudly as it showers around xem like confetti.

She just stares ahead flatly.

Xe coughs. "Okay, yeah, I guess you wouldn't believe it, huh? Man, you really like to ruin everyone's fun, don't you?" For a split second, it looks like xe's embarrassed, but that moment is gone before she can blink. "Fine… I kind of sort of might be maybe making a cake or two for someone."

…Huh. "May I ask who that someone is?" she asks.

"You just did." Xe sticks out xer tongue but actually flinches back when she snaps. "Alright, fine, I'll tell you. I'm making them for Takumi. Geez, happy now?"

"Takumi…" Shizu mutters. It's not an unreasonable idea for most people, but Soraru is very different from the norm. "Could it be…"

Shaking xer fist playfully, xe answers, "Hey! Don't speculate when I'm right here to give you the answer. I just wanted to maybe kind of apologize for whacking him right in his dumb face with a pie. I mean, sure it was hilarious when it splattered everywhere and when he shrieked, but he kind of took it way too seriously."

"The way that you're talking makes it sound like you're blaming him rather than trying to apologize," Shizu states.

"Hey, it's not like I could have know that he'd be the person walking in here. If it was anyone else, then nothing would have been wrong." Xe pauses to scratch xer chin. "Well, okay, maybe Chouki might have freaked. Morgan too, kind of. Don't want to be the person who messes up her getup. But my point still stands. Mostly. Despite the fact that I just undermined it."

Pinching her forehead, she groans, "What point? You just ramble on inanely, forgetting the topic at hand entirely. It's almost as if you expect me to forget as well."

Soraru laughs. "Aw, I wouldn't do that to you." Fluttering xer eyelashes, xe continues, "I'm not apologizing for the prank itself. Nuh uh. No way. I'm apologizing for getting him caught up in things. I maybe messed up a little when I didn't consider him at all, but that's not gonna happen again. So, that's why I'm making him some super special apology cakes. Because nothing says sorry better than cake!"

"Or actually saying sorry," mutters Shizu.

"What? No." Xe brushes her off with a wave of xer hand. "Who needs talking when you can have not talking? Besides, it's not like he's gonna stick around to listen to me say anything. Cake speaks louder than words! And cake with words written on it shouts louder than cake!"

She closes her eyes and scratches her chin. "In that case, are you planning on sticking it in the fridge and hoping that he'll stumble across it?"

"Well, let's just say that I have a special delivery method in mind." Xer smile is innocent, but that means nothing.

Shizu states flatly, "Do not throw it at him again."

Holding up xer hands, xe responds, "What? Man, you're really being mean today. Big Brother doesn't like mean people… How could I throw it at him if I have two cakes? I don't have two muscles. Or two beefy arms with which to throw at him simultaneously. And here I was thinking that you were able to plan things out."

She ignores the insult. "Just be careful not to make things any worse than they are right now."

"Hey, we're all still alive, so what's the big deal?" Without waiting for an answer, Soraru then says, "Now get out of my kitchen. Your bad attitude is making all of my food taste worse."

Shizu considers telling xem that the cake isn't even done, so there's no way to tell how it tastes, but such joke-ruining clarification statements are pointless on xem. Instead, she adjusts her glasses and acquiesces. "If you insist. I'm going to grab something to eat first."

"Okay, take your time. Just remember that every moment you spend in here is another moment that you make my apology worse, and, yes, I am going to blame you," xe states cheerfully.

In the end, she grabs a whole box of cereal and walks out of the dining hall with it in tow. Not wanting to get crumbs everywhere in a public space, she takes it back up to her room, where she can eat and ruminate on the conversation she just had.

* * *

 _Conversation with Soraru Kishinuma (1)_

 _\- Still an annoying gremlin child_

 _\- Appears reluctant to admit faults even when said faults are obvious (perhaps backfire effect?)_

 _\- Trying to apologize to Takumi via cakes, though can't help but be suspicious somehow (though Takumi is definitely careful enough to not eat anything made by Soraru, let alone anyone here)_

 _\- Seems to put on persona of not caring, though probably still feels some kind of guilt_

 _\- How does Joshua put up with xem for more than five minutes?_

* * *

Shizu is embarrassed to discover that she ate through the entire box. To be fair, it had already been opened, but it also was still about three quarters full. She must have been hungrier than she thought. Either that, or she had been too distracted to stop grabbing handfuls of sugary sustenance. Such is the peril of junk food…

It's gotten late already, past the time that she would normally eat dinner. Thanks to her cereal binging, however, she's not too concerned with missing out on that. Still, she should probably check in with the others before turning in for the night. The last thing they need is to think that she's going off the radar as well, even despite the late hour.

She chooses to head to the third floor, as there are a few things that she would like to check out. She hears voices coming from the lounge, but she moves past the room in order to take a quick peek into the storage room.

"Who goes there?"

Shizu barely has any time to react when Sawako suddenly appears in the storage room doorway, pointing at her. "Shizu? What are you doing here?"

"I'm checking to see if anyone's been using this room since I left it. If that was the case, there might have been evidence left behind," she responds, her voice shaking a little after the surprise. "How long have you been waiting here?"

"That's none of your concern." Ignoring the harsh rebuttal, Shizu focuses on Sawako's eyes. There are more bags than there were yesterday.

Shizu fixes her with a flat stare. "No, but I'd say it's definitely some of your concern. You look ready to collapse at any minute."

Shaking her head, Sawako doesn't notice the stray strands of hair sticking out of her ponytail. "I'll be fine. After what happened yesterday, I need to make sure that nobody uses this room for nefarious purposes. I know that blocking it off entirely is a terrible idea, but refusing to keep track of who uses this room is even worse."

"Tell me, how many people have stopped by at all during the time you've been keeping watch?" Shizu inquires. "This includes the footsteps you heard that went past the lounge."

Sawako looks at the floor. "…Only you have."

Shizu makes her point. "In that case, either people are going to use this room when you're not around to keep watch, or there is literally nothing to fear. You're exhausting yourself by forcing yourself to stay alert for long periods of time. Get some rest."

"I cannot-" Sawako begins.

Shizu jabs her finger towards Sawako, forcing her to step back in surprise. "You're not helping anyone, least of all yourself. Rest. Now."

A look flashes over Sawako's face, one that Shizu can't read. Perhaps it was one of defeat, as, for the first time since Shizu's met her, she slouches. "…I suppose you have a point. Once again, I've let my own determination get in the way."

"…Come on. I'm making sure that you actually leave."

The slowly walk down the hallway together, neither of them willing to talk. As they pass by the lounge again, they hear Tsubame call out to them. "Hello! I thought I heard someone walk past earlier. Would you like to join us tonight?"

"I will," Shizu answers, "But Sawako needs to get some shut-eye. Isn't that right?"

Slowly nodding, Sawako affirms her statement. "I've been getting a little careless recently. I want to help everyone, but I can't do that when I'm ready to fall over."

"No worries," Tsubame calls back. "Please get some rest, Sawako, and take care."

"I will see you both in the morning. Goodnight." Sawako trudges off towards the elevator, and Shizu steps into the lounge.

"Welcome to the party," Joshua greets from his position on the floor. It looks as though he used to be sitting in the one of the chairs yet slowly slid off and was too lazy to do anything about it.

Kazuha, sitting on the couch next to Tsubame, waves at her. "Oh, hey Shizu! I haven't seen you since breakfast. Has your day been going err… I don't want to say well, but maybe not horribly?"

"Not horribly is certainly a description for it," Shizu confirms. Glancing around the room, she sees that Kazuha, Tsubame, Hachi, and Kaixi are all sharing the couch, Michio has taken one of the chairs, and Joshua has claimed the rug. "Was there some meeting that I forgot about?"

"Nah, nothing like that," Michio says lazily. "We all ate dinner together and decided to keep talking to each other. We might have stayed in the dining hall, but we didn't wanna make it so that the others couldn't come out to eat. Large groups might have freaked some of them out."

"Freaking out is super bad!" Hachi pitches in.

"I can't help but feel bad for them, even now…" Tsubame muses. "I may not be the most social person, but I cannot imagine having no one around me at all."

Michio groans. "I'm still annoyed that it happened over something so dumb. I figured the motive would have been the catalyst, but, nope, it's pie. Guess the whole pie versus cake argument is more serious than I thought."

"Yeah, I'm glad that you all decided to stick around. It'd suck if you left," Kaixi states before blushing and hurriedly saying, "Uh, oh but I'm also really sad too that we don't have everyone."

Joshua snorts. "To be fair, some of those guys were kind of jerks. Not that I wish them any harm, but they're not the kind of people I'd really want to hang around. Or the kind of people who'd want to hang around me."

Kazuha mumbles, "You really should be a little nicer when talking about them…"

"Some of them may be rude, but it's even more rude to be rude about them behind their backs," Hachi agrees.

Nodding, Kaixi adds. "Nobody likes people who do that. …Oh wait, but I like you, sorry, I didn't mean to imply otherwise!"

"I guess…" Joshua whines. "Kinda sucks that we've got no idea how they're doing. I mean, has anyone even seen any of them today?"

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Michio apologizes. "Nah, sorry man."

"No…" Kazuha says quietly.

"I thought I felt someone watching me, but I didn't see who it was. Maybe it was one of them?" Hachi shrugs. "That's all I have, sorry."

"Unfortunately, it is the same for me," Tsubame mutters as she tugs on her braid. "The only person who might have would be Pal. He mentioned trying to get in touch with them during dinner, but he looked so downcast when he left that I don't think he was very successful."

"…I had a conversation with Soraru early today," Shizu admits.

That gets Joshua up on his feet. "Wait, really? Awesome, I knew that xe couldn't stay away for that long. I wonder why xe didn't show up for dinner though…"

She shrugs. "Xe was baking cakes, so maybe xe had something to eat then. I can't get a good grasp on xer motivations, honestly."

"Well, whatever. I'm gonna go bug xem." He starts to leave the room.

"I seriously doubt that xe's still in the kitchen," she calls after him.

He laughs. "Yeah, I know. That's why I'm going to incessantly ring xer doorbell. Truly, a flawless plan. Catch you all later!"

"I don't really get why he likes hanging around with xem," Michio admits once Joshua is out of earshot. "I think I'd be pretty mad if someone pranked me by having me slip and crash into a wall."

Hachi purses her lips. "Hmmm… Maybe he got brain damage from the collision? Ooh, ooh! No, maybe his sleeping powers give him the ability to be super forgiving!"

"Hey, as long as both of them are happy, I think that's what matters most." Kazuha smiles and looks around at everyone else, as if hoping to get them happy as well.

"I think what matters most," Shizu says, "is that I can finally sit down now that Joshua isn't blocking the chair."

Tsubame stifles a giggle. "We could have made some room on the couch if you wanted."

"It's all in the past now, so it's no bother." After taking a moment to get comfortable, she asks, "So, you mentioned that you all came here after dinner. Was this everyone who was there?"

Kaixi answers first. "Nope. Pal was there, but, like Tsubame said earlier, he seemed upset about something, so I think he turned in for the night."

"We haven't seen Samia at all since this morning either," Michio adds. "No idea what's up with her… Maybe she's been staying in the infirmary now that it's opened up. I haven't really checked, if I'm gonna be honest."

"What would you say if you weren't being honest?" Hachi ponders.

Kazuha replies cheerfully. "Probably that he has checked out the infirmary."

"Oh…"

"Ask a stupid question…" Michio laughs but then waves one of his hands. "Nah, I'm just kidding. Now that I think about it, I don't know anyone who would ever admit to being dishonest immediately after saying something."

Thinking for a moment, Tsubame says, "Soraru might, as a joke."

"In that case, wouldn't xe be dishonest about being dishonest?" Kaixi lifts his cap and scratches his head. "I think? Is that what that would be?"

"Uh… I think you kind of confused me too," Kazuha chuckles.

Shizu interjects, hoping to put an end to the cycle of confusion. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly were you all talking about before I showed up? I didn't mean to get you off topic, if that happened in the first place."

"It's no bother," Tsubame quickly says. "We weren't talking about anything in particular."

"Just some casual, small talk," Michio agrees.

She scratches her chin. "…I see."

Giggling, Hachi looks at her playfully. "Huh? Don't tell me you're disappointed that we're not talking about something more serious? Or are you confused about small talk or something?"

"What? No, I know what small talk is." The look on her face must be pretty funny, since a few people start chuckling.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but we're not really going into our life philosophies today," Kazuha consoles her through her giggles.

"You can still take notes on this if you want. Just so you don't forget." Kaixi tries to help, but he really shouldn't have bothered.

Tsubame's eyes widen. "Oh… Are you the sort of person that does not like to repeat topics ever? I hope I have not been too repetitive."

"I'm the type of person that really hates all of you right now," Shizu deadpans.

They continue playfully mocking her habits for a while before descending back into more meaningless small talk. For a while, they attempt to get Kazuha to identify the fish in the tank, but she doesn't know all of them. When called out, she claims that Chouki would probably know and that being an Ultimate is not the same thing as having an encyclopedic knowledge of every animal species ever. This then transitions to pestering Hachi about bees for a bit, but she quickly stops because she gets tired and has to leave for the night. The rest of the time is spent looking through the photos that Kaixi has taken of them over the past few days. Some of them are amusing, like when he caught Joshua lying down on the kitchen floor with a bowl on his head. Eventually, as the clock strikes 11 PM, Shizu feels herself starting to drift off.

"It's been fun… mostly… talking to you all, but I need to turn in for the night," she says after she yawns.

Michio flashes a grin in her direction. "No worries. Catch you tomorrow. Don't want to be late for being the first one to breakfast."

"Night Shizu!" Kazuha waves her off.

"I hope you have pleasant dreams," states Tsubame as she too bids her farewell.

Kaixi looks a little ashamed to be the last one to speak up. "Um… Take care! Don't let the bedbugs bite! …Wait, I hope there aren't any bed bugs here…" She briefly hears them start discussing the conditions of their rooms before their voices fade out.

When she gets to the elevator lobby, the doors to the elevator open, and Kogi steps out, carrying his laundry hamper with one hand. Shizu freezes instantly. However, Kogi doesn't seem all that bothered by her presence. Instead, he stares at her before saying, "Hey."

She swallows. "…What are you doing here?"

"Laundry." He taps the hamper with the hand holding it and gives her a flat look.

"That's not what I meant," she mutters. "It's past 11 PM, and, from what I remember, you claimed you wanted nothing to do with the rest of us."

Kogi rolls his eyes. "As it turns out, people need to do laundry. The best time to not run into anyone is late at night. You do the math. Or did you think that this is a college dorm, where everyone stays up until 2 AM doing homework?"

"…I just figured that you wouldn't leave your room unless it was something important. I didn't figure that laundry would be one of those things, especially at this juncture," Shizu admits.

"What a pain…" Rubbing his temples, Kogi sets down his hamper and crosses his arms. "I said that I didn't feel safe hanging out in a group that was ready to tear out each others' throats over a prank, not that I would become a complete shut-in. Just because I don't want to interact with people doesn't mean that I never leave my room."

"Then why make such a big fuss about leaving?" Shizu asks. "If you wanted to be left alone, there was little need for such a grand speech about how unity was a failed effort."

Kogi gives her a flat look. "If I walked away without explaining anything, do you really think that would go unquestioned? I got that out of the way as quickly as I could."

"Then your reasoning was passionate enough for you to sway the others?"

"I never intended to make anyone else follow me. I wasn't even aware that any of the others even agreed with what I said." She's not entirely sure she believes his claims, but he continues regardless of her skepticism. "The only thing that I wanted to do was stand up for what I believed in. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Taking a stand?" she repeats, somewhat dumbfounded.

He rubs his temples again. "Look, if I hadn't said anything, maybe everyone else would still be together. But then what? I'm sure that another dumb argument would have popped up, and we'd go through this whole process again because nobody wants to be the person who calls things into question. You had this idea of safety in numbers, but nobody actually felt safe at all. That's why things collapsed so quickly. I thought that was stupid, so I said something."

Something in his speech spoke to her. For the first time, she's able to look him directly in the eyes. "Then let me ask you this. Do you believe that everyone is currently safer now than they were previously?"

"Dunno." Kogi shrugs. "I'm not the strategist here. But, if you really want my opinion, I don't think we're in any more danger than we were before."

She prepares her argument. "How can you come to that conclusion? Before, we were able to keep tabs on everyone, even those who were less thrilled to be part of the group. However, several people have gone off on their own, hiding away from the rest of us. How can we guarantee that they will be safe? How will we know that they aren't planning anything?"

"Right back at you. How can you be so sure that nobody was planning any of that stuff when we were all together?" He counters. "It's all well and good to pretend that things were nicer when we were unified, but be reasonable. Unity out of fear isn't unity at all. If you really want people to stand together, you need some kind of positive reinforcement. All you had was negative stuff, and look where that got everyone."

"So, you're saying that this was inevitable." Deep down, she had a feeling that this might have been true. Perhaps Kogi spelling it out for her so blatantly made it impossible for her to ignore.

He nods. Then, he looks her over. "I took my stand. So, what about you? When are you taking yours?"

Jolting back a bit from his odd question, she frowns. "What exactly are you implying?"

"From what I can tell, you've been trying to get details about people and how they think ever since we've been brought here. You're clearly trying to stop anyone from getting hurt or dying, but you haven't even asked them anything about their pasts. Almost like you're learning about them without trying to make them remember anything. I think I've finally figured out why that is." His gaze never wavers from hers.

"Of course I'm trying to stop that." The intensity of his gaze makes her freeze up again, but she perseveres. "I sincerely hope that you aren't implying that I want people to die."

"That's definitely part of it, but there's more. I can see it in your eyes." He points towards her, and says, "You don't actually want to leave this place, do you?"

…What?

"How on Earth did you come to that conclusion?"

Crossing his arms, he admits, "Guess I could be wrong. But the way that you've been acting is pretty suspect. You start gussying up the place with clocks, you make sure that everyone else isn't causing any trouble, and you've already got your own daily routine. If you're not planning on causing trouble yourself, then you're trying to settle in."

She pauses for a second. "…Have you ever considered the fact that I'm just very thorough?"

"You're the only person that I've seen not mention the fact that they want to get out of here." Kogi waits for her to say something else, but she never does. Thus, he picks his hamper back up and says, "I guess it doesn't matter that much. Long as you aren't killing anyone, I don't care what you want. But just remember that, eventually, someone else is going to take their stand too. Maybe they'll be motivated by the thought of people dying. Maybe they really hate someone here. Maybe they just really want to get out of this place. Whatever the case, things aren't going to stay the same forever. I wonder who's going to make the first move.

Shizu is still frozen in place by the time he disappears from the lobby.

* * *

 _Conversation with Kogi Bodo (1)_

 _\- Stands up for things he believes in, seemingly regardless of possible fallout or consequences of his actions_

 _\- Claims to not know about his influence on others or, at least, not caring about said influence_

 _\- Unable to get good read on his character, perhaps both because he hides stuff well and for… personal… reasons_

 _\- Believes that I do not want to escape_

* * *

Shizu's not actually aware if she's gotten any sleep or not. Every time that she closes her eyes, Kogi's words keep coming back to her. Maybe that's just her dreams. Just an endless parade of self-doubt, misery, and sweat. Her blanket is simultaneously the most comfortable thing she has around and the thing that is causing her temperature to skyrocket. But she can't let go.

Turning over to glance at the clock, she isn't even surprised to see that it's already 7:30 AM. Because of course it is. Curse her sleep schedule. Curse this stupid not-dreams. Curse Kogi. Not really that last one because Kogi is completely fine. She's the one with a problem.

Shizu takes the time to shower this morning. Normally, she prefers nighttime showers much more than any other kinds, but her body is aching and sweating still, and she needs some kind of relief. It's worth messing up her schedule over in the end. If she hadn't taken this time out of her day, she knows that she would be much more miserable.

Once she's finally ready and pushing open her door, she hears a chime, signaling the announcement. "Good morning everyone! It's officially 8 AM, so let's greet the morning with a smile, shall we? That's all!"

The elevator is empty once again, and she is once more grateful for this fact. Thank goodness nobody else wakes up this early. She's given time to think about important things, like what she wants for breakfast or what she's even trying to do here. The elevator dings open, interrupting her thoughts, and she steps outside.

…And immediately trips over something and lands face first on the ground. As she groans, adjusts her glasses, and tries to push herself up, something crashes into the back of her head, sending her back to the floor. It's something mushy…

A low growl echoes throughout the lobby, and Shizu is surprised to hear that it's coming from herself. She wasn't even aware she could make that kind of noise. These thoughts were pushed to the side as burning rage seers through her brain. She pushes herself up once more, and, thankfully, nothing else forces her back.

As she stands up, whatever was on top of her falls off with a clatter. There's flecks of something stuck on her glasses, and more of it is stuck in her hair. Upon closer inspection, it's cake. Looking behind her, she sees a plate lying on the ground.

She takes a deep breath and marches back into the elevator, cake flecks dripping off of her as she walks. She crosses her arms and taps her foot impatiently, as the elevator slowly makes its way back up to the fourth floor. Once it gets there, she storms back towards her room, not caring about whatever mess she could possibly be making.

Another shower is in order, though this one is a hundred times less soothing. A few times, the drain nearly clogs, so she has to individually break up the chunks of food so they can fit through the drain. Truly, this is the perfect way to spend her morning.

Shizu simultaneously dries herself off and throws her clothes into the hamper. She just did laundry two days ago, and now she has to do a smaller load because of this shit. What a fantastic start to the day. At least this means she has a fresh change of clothes. Thank goodness she had two blazers in total. She's still not enjoying the prison stripes of her shirt.

Glaring at the cake and the plate it was on with contempt, she storms towards the laundry room. She's actually lucky that she didn't slip and fall again, because, while carrying her hamper, she nearly stepped on a particularly large piece. That would have ruined her day for certain.

You know what else would ruin her day? The washing machines both being taken. Shizu drops her hamper, her arms physically unable to hold it up as she stares blankly towards both of the machines. They both have about twenty minutes left, so it's not that long of a wait. That's what she tells herself. She also tells herself, "God fucking damnit!", except she replaces "tells" with "yells". "Of course. Of course someone was actually up early enough to do laundry. Just perfect. What else can go wrong today?"

A high pitched scream rings out from far away.

A chime follows immediately, signaling a Monokuma announcement.

"A body has been discovered. Everyone, please gather in the dining hall for further instructions."

Without even thinking about anything, without realizing she's discarded her anger so quickly, Shizu guns it towards the dining hall faster than she's ever moved in her life before. She doesn't take the time to consider that she's broken her top speed, she doesn't acknowledge that she could slip on the cake mess, she doesn't even notice if she's passed anyone else. All that matters is getting to the dining hall.

She flings the doors wide open. Hachi, probably the source of the scream, is hyperventilating in the corner of the room, tears streaming down her face. Sawako and Michio are hunched over at the table, looking down at something. From this angle, Sawako looks both enraged and horrified. Michio's face betrays no expression, all traces of his humor completely gone.

Shizu hurries to see what they're looking at, positioning herself on Michio's side.

A box of cereal is standing completely upright. A bowl filled with milk and said cereal is also present. There's a spoon that's fallen to the ground. In the middle of all of this...

Face down on the table as blood drips from the back of their head…

…is someone that Shizu doesn't recognize. Their facial features don't ring any bells. But then, it hits her. There's only one possibility…

Takumi Haruko is dead.

* * *

 _Shizu's Notes_

 _The Remaining Group_

 _\- Everyone seems in mostly good spirits despite the events of yesterday, could be a façade but calling that out sounds like an awful idea_

 _\- Conversations are certainly friendly, which is one plus side, so it's unlikely that tensions will rise when it's just us_

 _\- Possibility of more people silently excusing themselves from the group, need to watch out for that_

 _The Isolated_

 _\- None of them came to breakfast or to hang out with the rest of the group at any other time_

 _\- Soraru emerged, as Joshua expected, though not to socialize_

 _\- Morgan is nowhere to be found, despite her claims yesterday (maybe needs more time to think of something mystical to wow us with?)_

 _\- Hachi thinks she was being watched by someone, so maybe one of the isolated was around but too shy to socialize or maybe eavesdropping on conversations_

 _\- Not a surprise that no one went back on their words_

 _\- Kogi came outside to do laundry, but that's it_

 _Thoughts on Monokuma_

 _\- Appearances are sporadic_

 _\- Usually only comes out to inform us of a new development, threaten us, or make an announcement_

 _\- Seems to enjoy toying with us, so is there a reason he doesn't do it more?_

 _\- Impossible to forget about him due to announcements and because his face is plastered everywhere, so that might be enough to satisfy his ego_

 _takumi is dead_

* * *

A/N: The first death. Judging from the victim poll, this wasn't all that unexpected, but I hope that it was still enjoyable nonetheless. There's more to life than just being surprised. Basically, you'd all better appreciate this, or I'm suing you all. ...Where was I? Oh yes, character stuff. I actually managed to give every single character a free time event, and, though some were longer than others, I hope that they gave you some good insights to who these people are and what makes them tick. Especially now that the death clock is ticking once more...

In any case, the investigation is coming up next, and that might take a while. As it turns out, I've uh... never written an investigation before? So let's hope that goes well. Same for a class trial, now that I think about it. Oh well, no fear! Only regrets! With that being said, I hope you have a fantastic day.


	12. Chapter 1: A Different Kind of Prison 06

Beta Read by Lupus Overkill

* * *

Takumi's dead. He's dead. He's hunched over dead on the table, and blood is getting everywhere, and he's dead, and he's dead he's dead he's-

Shizu has to physically slap herself to snap herself out of her thoughts. She's supposed to be the person who has all the ideas, not just stating the obvious over and over again. She has to focus despite the fact that she can't. She feels someone nudge her but doesn't respond.

"Shizu, I need you to move." It's Michio's voice. He sounds more serious than any other time that's she's heard him. Still, she remains in place, staring at the blood dripping from the back of Takumi's head. Michio sighs before physically pushing her aside. "Sorry, but I need to look closer." Even from a slightly different angle, she can't take her eyes away from this horrid sight.

The doors fly open behind her, and she hears a cacophony of voices ring out, barely able to tell who is who.

"That announcement… It was fake, right? No one's actually dead?!"

"Tch… You're being too loud. It was only a matter of time before this happened."

"Oh, shut up! You're not helping! Let me through… I need to see the body."

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Samia appear on the other side of Sawako, a look of frenzied desperation on her face. It fades the moment she sees blood.

"Well, who is it?" Shizu's now able to identify Chouki's voice. His words are casual, but his tone has a slight edge to it.

She sees Sawako shake. "You… Do you not care? Someone has died, and that's all you can say?!" she bellows, her fist clenched so tightly that Shizu is afraid it might start bleeding. There doesn't need to be any more blood.

Kaixi's frightened voice rings out. "B-but, no one's dead, right? There's nothing there a-and this is just another bad prank, right?! It has to be!"

In response, Hachi starts wailing louder than before.

Chouki grits his teeth and says, "It's not like I can see who it is with you all surrounding the table. What do you want me to say?" It's a little hard to hear him over Hachi's cries and her own beating heart.

The doors burst open again, revealing more panicking people.

"There was that terrible announcement and then that mess? What's going on?" Tsubame states, speaking much faster than normal.

Pal reveals himself through his distinctive speech patterns. "This is a tragedy… Have we truly… lost one of our members?"

Michio decides to be the bearer of bad news. "Someone murdered Takumi."

There's another explosion of sound, and Shizu instinctively covers her ears. Kaixi's screams, Hachi's shrieks, Tsubame's stuttering, and Pal's coughing fit all blend together into a choir of despair. The sounds and the sights are all too much for her, and she's forced to look up, away from the body. It doesn't help much as she sees Kazuha running towards her, her expression one of pure agony. The pit in her stomach opens wider, and she looks back down at Takumi's bloody corpse.

"Why? Why?!" she hears Kazuha scream.

"This isn't real. This isn't real," Kaixi whispers to himself, his voice finally giving out from screaming so much.

Giving a deep sigh, Michio mutters, "I'm sorry, but it is real. We've got no other choice but to accept it."

"It's awful…" Samia sounds ready to throw up. "I can't even ask why because I know why. I can't even find the words."

"If you need to step away, I can handle this," Michio assures her.

"We can handle this," Sawako corrects him firmly, though she doesn't sound like she's accusing him.

She shakes her head, despite the queasy look on her face. "I'll be fine."

Once again, the dining hall doors swing open. Without a word, Kogi walks into the room and moves to the other side of the table in order to see what everyone is looking at. Upon seeing Takumi's corpse, he pauses, though his expression is unreadable.

Before anyone can ask him anything, Soraru comes bursting in, completely out of breath. "Hey, I heard some stupid words, so I ran stupid fast! What's…" xe trails off, and xer smile becomes even more forced when xe notices all of the people standing around the table. "Oh… Um…"

Chouki takes it upon himself to answer, "Takumi bit it."

"Oh…" Xer voice is much smaller now, and xe almost seems to shrink for a moment.

Then, Morgan almost hits xem with the doors as she enters. She ignores xer angry look and states, "The spirits warned me that this might happen… It appears that I was much too late to do anything to help."

"Huh? Weren't you the one saying that nobody was going to die? Quit changing your story!" Soraru accuses her.

Morgan responds evenly. "I never claimed anything of the sort. I merely stated that nobody would want to kill anyone. However, while communing with the spirits these past few days, I became aware of some unsettling events that could transpire. I wished to see things more clearly, so I delayed." Biting her lip, she looks to the floor. "That decision… proved to be fatal…"

"D-don't blame yourself!" Kaixi hurriedly assures her, running to her side. "You didn't do this!" Then, he takes a moment to consider his words. "I mean… you didn't, right?"

"Of course not," she denies, but the damage is already done.

Everyone begins looking around the room warily. So far, they had only considered the fact that Takumi was no longer alive. They hadn't even thought about what that implied. Someone killed him. His killer was in the room with them.

The tension doesn't break even as Fumika steps into the dining hall, her expression harsh as tears are starting to form in the corners of her eyes. That suspicion, for one single instant, gets laser-focused directly onto her as everyone stares in her direction. She looks like she's about to run for it, but she manages to calm her nerves. "…What's with the looks?" she asks, though it's clear that she probably already knows.

"It means that all of your friends and families are safe!"

There's a collective flinch when Monokuma leaps out of nowhere and lands next to Takumi's body. Shizu, Sawako, and Samia all step away, revealing the corpse to everyone else in the room. Somehow, Michio holds his ground and glares at the bear from his place.

"W-what?" Hachi manages to squeak out.

Tsubame's eyes widen. "The motive…"

Giving a hearty chuckle, Monokuma says, "That's right! Thank you to whoever snapped first! If they hadn't acted before tonight, then I would have had to release that poison. Man, imagine the damage that would have been done if that happened!"

Chouki growls, Kazuha whimpers, and Pal looks fiercer than ever before, perhaps channeling the less pleasant side of being a "siren".

"Well, no reason to waste time thinking about the past," he casually announces. "We've got a trial to look forward to!"

"Hold on," Kogi stops him. "What do you mean trial?"

Sawako also speaks up. "Yes, I was not aware of a trial in the rules. In fact, I was under the impression that whoever… killed… Takumi would now be allowed to go home. I feel as though someone would have spoken up if they knew who was responsible by this point."

For some reason, everyone immediately turns to Shizu, looks of hope and fear present in their eyes. "…I only got here a few minutes ago. I'm a strategist, not a psychic detective. There's no possible way that any of us would know who killed Takumi unless they saw someone committing the crime."

Monokuma slaps his forehead in mock shame. "Aw geez, did I forget to mention that part of the rules? I'm so scatterbrained sometimes." He looks around the room before continuing. "Well, let's have a little crash course about the rest of the rules then."

Clearing his throat, he dictates, "Rule 7: Once three people discover a body for the first time, a body discovery announcement will play in order to alert everyone who isn't aware. After a short period of time, an Ultimate Trial will start!"

"So that was the point of that message," Tsubame whispers.

Fumika gives her a look. "The message itself was pretty clear. But I'm still confused about this Ultimate Trial. What exactly does it entail?"

"I'm getting to that part!" Monokuma shushes her. "Rule 8: During the Ultimate Trial, you must discuss about who you think the culprit is. At the end, you all must cast your votes. If the majority votes for the culprit, then the culprit alone will be punished. If the majority votes for the wrong person, then everyone besides the culprit will be punished, and that culprit will be the winner of the game! And, before you all get too comfortable, let me just mention that the punishment in this particular case…" He pauses for dramatic effect. "…is execution."

"What?!" Kazuha shrieks.

With a terrified glare on his face, Chouki shouts, "What the fuck? That wasn't part of the deal. One person dying puts the rest of us at risk? Don't drag the rest of us into this!"

Morgan glowers at him as a bead of sweat trickles down her face. "This is the sort of thing that you make sure to explain first."

Tugging on the straps of his backpack, Kaixi cries, "C-can't you just let them go?"

"I don't w-want anyone e-else to d-die," Hachi sobs, her entire body shivering.

Tapping her foot, Shizu eventually states, "You planned this."

"Huh? Huh?" Monokuma tilts his head.

Soraru shouts, "Hey! That's my unique confusion catchphrase! Get your own!"

Shizu ignores xem. "You intentionally left out those rules. It wasn't a mistake or a slip of the mind. You planned for this happening all along."

"By not telling us everything," Kogi continues, "You made people more likely to commit murder. That's why you didn't tell us about a trial."

"I have no idea what you're blabbering on about," Monokuma denies cheekily. "But does that really matter at this point? You're wasting all of this time talking to me when you should be investigating."

Samia narrows her eyes. "You're giving us time to look around before the trial? That's awfully generous of you."

"Would you rather I throw you into things without preparation?" he spits back. "All I want is a fair trial. I can't have that when everyone is stumbling around like a bunch of headless chickens."

Michio's voice is solemn, yet firm, when he asks, "How much time do we have?"

"Eh, until I get bored of waiting. That's probably going to be, what, forty minutes, give or take." Monokuma shrugs. "I hate to admit it, but I've never been the most patient bear. Actually, I don't hate to admit that at all!"

"Forty minutes?" He chokes. "That's not enough time!"

Quivering in place, Kaixi agrees. "Y-you can't expect us to s-solve a… a… a m-murder in that little t-time!"

"Well, you'd better get to work, because time's a-wastin'! Good luck!" He backflips off of the table and completely vanishes, leaving everyone in a state of confusion and panic.

Hachi is the first to complain. "No… This can't be real! I don't want to do this! No more people dying!"

"This isn't happening…" Kaixi murmurs to himself.

"But if we don't do anything, then we're all going to die," Fumika counters, though her face looks equally torn.

Kazuha tries to speak but words fail her. She needs to try a second time before she can say, "B-but what are we s-supposed to do?"

"As much as I hate to listen to that bear," Michio growls, "we need to investigate."

"I don't wanna look at…" Soraru trails off, xer confident tone fading out quickly.

Morgan shakes her head. "There is no need for us all to crowd around in one place. It is likely that the culprit has left evidence elsewhere throughout the building. We should all divide our searching to cover all of the relevant areas, especially because we have a time limit involved."

"Oh, cool, I have permission to do whatever then. See you later!" Soraru instantly runs out of the dining hall when Morgan stops talking.

"That… isn't exactly what I meant," she calls out fruitlessly.

Fumika looks around for a few moments and then says, "What exactly are we all waiting for? Someone to tell us to start? Let's just get this over with already."

"…If you all need a cue, consider this to be it," Shizu says after nobody else moves.

 **Investigation Start**

The first thing that Shizu does is go over to one of the corner tables to sit down and consult her notes. Although the crime only took place today, that doesn't mean that everything that happened the previous days were inconsequential. Whatever happened today was a consequence of everything building up over their time spent in this game. With that in mind, she jots a quick reminder to reference the conversations she's had with everyone.

* * *

 _Character Profiles_ _– The notes I built from talking with everyone here. Some of these notes may be incorrect due to incorrect speculation, but they still hold my gut feelings about everyone._

* * *

She also takes the time to update the rules that Monokuma has given them. She wants to get them down before she forgets.

* * *

 _Rules_ _– The rules of the Ultimate Game. They give us some idea of what's impossible for people to do, though there may be loopholes to exploit._

 _1\. Violence against Monokuma is explicitly forbidden._

 _2\. We are not allowed to force our way past any areas marked with Monokuma's face._

 _3\. Nighttime begins at 12 am and ends at 8 am. Announcements will be made at both times._

 _4\. Punishments vary in severity._

 _5\. Monokuma may change the rules at any time._

 _6\. In order to win the game, we must kill someone without anyone else figuring out that we are the culprit._

 _7\. A body discovery announcement plays once three people discover a body for the first time, which signals the start of a trial._

 _8\. A majority vote for the correct culprit results in punishment for them, while an incorrect majority vote results in everyone else being punished and that person getting to go free. The punishment for either party is execution._

* * *

Looking over the rules again was a good idea, as Shizu reminded herself of one more fact. The dining hall, at least so far, is the only room to be restricted during nighttime. This could help narrow down the timing of the murder, even if it only does so slightly.

* * *

 _Dining Hall Restrictions_ _– At nighttime, the doors to the dining hall are marked with Monokuma's face. Thus, during that time, it is impossible to access the dining hall, kitchen, pantry, and freezer. Monokuma uses this period to restock food and keep everything clean._

* * *

That's all that she can currently think of, so she stands up from her seat and looks around. The crowd has dispersed a little, probably because most people have started looking elsewhere. Michio and Sawako are still standing over Takumi's corpse. From this angle, it looks as though Michio is doing an autopsy while Sawako is making sure he's not trying anything funny. In the background of all of this, Kaixi is alternating between snapping photos and looking over the shots.

Shizu takes a deep breath and makes her way closer to the table. "What have you got so far?" she asks Michio.

He grumbles, "Not much. There isn't much that I can do without the proper tools. So far, I've just been looking over his wounds… Couldn't that damn bear have given us some kind of starting point or at least some way for me to do my job? How're we supposed to get anywhere with this?"

Recollection flashes through her eyes. "I can get you a coroner's kit."

"Wait, really?" He finally turns to look at her. "Did you find one in the storage room or something? I haven't really been looking around there much."

She shakes her head. "Never mind that, I'll go fetch one for you. However, I would like to hear your initial analysis of Takumi's body, as well as what you were doing yesterday and this morning."

"Huh? You need my alibi from that far back?" He scratches the back of his neck. "Well, I guess you're just being thorough."

Thinking back to Soraru's pranks, she says, "There is a chance that parts of this crime were prepared in advance. Any information from the previous day could help us narrow down the suspects."

She jumps a little when Sawako finally speaks up, as she had almost forgotten she was there. "You would like my alibi as well, I'm guessing." Her voice is full of resignation.

"Yes please," Shizu answers, not looking her in the eyes.

Michio sighs. "I'll start then. Yesterday, I came to breakfast at the usual time, but I was alone for most of the day until dinner. Pretty much everyone who was still with the group ate together around 6 PM, except Samia and Sawako. Then, Pal left, and the rest of us went to the lounge to keep talking at 7 PM. I don't remember too much, but I was one of the last people there. I think Kaixi and I were still there until around one in the morning."

"You stayed that long?" Shizu gives him a shocked look.

He shrugs. "What can I say? He was really interested in my job, so I obliged. Anyways, I went to bed around 1 AM. I didn't see anyone until, like, 8:30 AM today. I met Sawako as I was coming out of my room, and Hachi joined us on the elevator. We went straight to the dining hall, and then… Well, we all found his body, and that announcement played."

"I can confirm that last part," Sawako adds. "As for my actions yesterday, I went to the storage room immediately after breakfast and got there around 10 AM. I stayed there on watch for the rest of the day until you forced me to leave around 10 PM. Other than you, no one attempted to go to the storage room on my watch."

Shizu clicks her tongue. "I see… I had a feeling that this would be the case, but most people are unaccounted for. A lot of this is unverifiable."

Tugging on her ponytail, Sawako agrees solemnly. "I'm sorry that I can't be of more help. If only I could have done more than just guard that storage room… I was certain it would be a dangerous place."

"There's no need to blame yourself," Michio tells her. "At least we know that, if someone did go there, it was after you left your post."

That's not entirely true, but Shizu keeps that thought to herself for now. "And what of Takumi's body?"

Michio goes into professional mode. "There's only one external wound on his body that I've been able to find. He got hit in the back of the head really hard, probably by a blunt object. It must have been pretty strong. Other than that, I haven't found much of anything."

She considers his statement as she looks over at Takumi's last meal. It looks like he barely had the chance to eat anything before he died, unfortunately. He never even got the chance to put the half-empty box back. "I see… Thank you for your help. I'll get you that kit now." She gives them both a short wave goodbye and makes for the door. Before she gets there, Kaixi intercepts her.

"Oh hey, sorry for bothering you, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation… Did um… Did you want my alibi too?" he asks, tapping his camera nervously.

"That would be a great help, yes," she confirms.

He gives a nervous chuckle. "W-well, I don't know how helpful it's going to be, since it's pretty close to Michio's. The only real difference is that, this morning, I ran out of my room once I heard the announcement. I ran past Samia and Chouki on the way here, at least, but that's about it…"

She taps her pen against her notepad. "…Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

Kaixi shakes his head. "Um… well, there was this one little thing, I guess?"

"Any information could be helpful. Please just tell me," she says.

"Well, you probably already thought of this, because it's really obvious and I only really noticed it when I was looking back over all of the pictures I took but… Um… Takumi's bag is missing." Before she can say anything else, he spouts of his reasoning. "Wait, I know it sounds dumb, but, um, you know… He's always wearing it, and I doubt he'd stop wearing it now after the freak-out two days ago. So why isn't he wearing it now? And also, if he was wearing it, where did it go?"

Shizu considers this. "That is true. It had seemed so obvious that I had dismissed it in my head. There might have been some reason to get rid of it… Hmm… Thank you, Kaixi. I have a lot to think about."

"No problem!" He waves her off as she exits the dining hall.

* * *

 _Alibis_ _– What everyone claims to have done yesterday and this morning. These probably will not be helpful for this particular case, but it never hurts to collect more information._

 _\- Everyone except for the split group met for breakfast yesterday._

 _\- Michio, Kazuha, Tsubame, Hachi, Pal, Kaixi, and Joshua met for dinner yesterday at 6 PM. Pal split off from the group after he finished eating._

 _\- Michio, Kazuha, Tsubame, Hachi, Kaixi, and Joshua went to lounge after dinner at 7 PM. I joined them around 10 PM. I remember Joshua leaving around 10:30 PM, and I left around 11 PM. Michio and Kaixi were the last ones there, and left around 1 AM._

 _\- Sawako stood guard at the storage room from 10 AM to 10 PM. I was the only person she saw during that time._

 _\- Michio, Sawako, and Hachi met up around 8:30 AM today and found Takumi's body. Kaixi, Chouki, and Samia also met up after the body discovery announcement played._

 _Body Discovery (Takumi)_ _– The announcement played when Michio, Sawako, and Hachi discovered Takumi's body in the dining hall a little after 8:30 AM._

 _Status of Takumi's Body_ _– His only external injury is on the back of his head. According the Michio, it was most likely caused by a blunt object. Because of this, it is incredibly bloody._

 _Takumi's Cereal_ _– Takumi's last meal was a bowl of cereal with milk. From the looks of things, he barely had the chance to eat any of it. The half-empty box is still sitting there, as if he had just poured it out._

 _Takumi's Bag_ _– The bag that Takumi normally wears on his head is missing. It is unknown whether the culprit disposed of it or he simply chose not to wear it, though the latter seems unlikely._

* * *

Having taken note of all of that, Shizu runs past the briefing room and into the infirmary. She's not at all surprised to see that Samia is already there, looking through all of the cabinets. She's too busy working and muttering to herself, so Shizu clears her throat.

Samia jumps slightly. "Ack! Oh, Shizu, sorry about that. I didn't hear you come in."

She walks over to the line of cabinets. "Understandable. From what I've heard, you've been spending a lot of time in here. Any reason you chose to head here right now?"

Samia slaps her forehead. "Oh damn it. I meant to grab one of the coroner's kits for Michio. Ugh, is that why you're here?"

"Yup." Opening one of the cabinets, Shizu pulls out one of the kits and then faces the epidemiologist. "I take it that something distracted you."

"I was going to get one right away, I swear," Samia begins, a bead of sweat trickling down her face. "But I thought that I should check up on everything else just in case. And I found that someone moved the poison and sleeping pills right back to the front."

She inhales sharply. "Are you certain about this?" She realizes how dumb her question is a moment later, and only gives Samia enough time to glare flatly at her before correcting herself. "My apologies. I meant to ask if you are sure that this is a recent development. Did someone take out a bottle and forget to place it back into hiding again?"

"See for yourself." Moving towards the largest cabinet, Samia angles herself out of the way and opens it. She gestures to the top shelf, where all of the sleeping pills are in full view. "Someone took all of them out from where I hid them and put them back in front. It's the same thing for the poison." Pivoting on the spot, she opens the fridge as well. Sure enough, the bottles of poison are back in front, right next to the blood bags. "I don't know when this happened or who did it. I hadn't gotten to this point in my inspection yet, so I wasn't keeping track of this stuff. I've got no idea when this happened, but it seemed really suspicious that I found this right after a murder took place."

She takes a closer look for herself. All of the bottles that Samia had hidden were right back where they used to be. It's not just one of the bottles either. Again, every single one has been repositioned. How curious. "Were any of them opened?" she asks, still staring at them.

There's a sound of Samia's head moving, but it takes another few seconds before she says, in a flustered voice, "Oh, right… Oops. Every bottle of medicine that I've checked has already been opened, even the ones that weren't moved. None of them have seals or anything, so there's no way of telling if someone used them or not."

"Hmm…" She picks up a bottle of poison and reads the label, just in case. She does the same with the bottle of sleeping pills. Finally, Shizu leans her head back and asks, "Then that's why you were distracted."

"I needed to check if anything else had been touched," she confirms. "I feel as though there's something just slightly different, but I can't put my finger on it. It might just be my imagination, but I had to make sure. Otherwise, we might miss a vital clue."

"And have you discovered anything, then?" Shizu pulls out her notepad, just in case.

Samia coughs a little. "No, I haven't. Just my initial findings. I'm starting to think that this is all a waste of time."

"That's why everyone else is also investigating," she muses. "Very well then, before you continue, would you mind telling me what you were doing yesterday and this morning?"

"What do you need to know about yesterday for?" Samia questions. "I know that I said that I didn't know when the stuff got switched around, but still… Even if you get all of those accounts, how are you going to verify them?"

Tapping her pen against her notes, Shizu replies, "That's for me to worry about. For the meantime, please give me all that you remember. Unless you are afraid of implicating yourself since you spent all of your time in the infirmary."

An instance of fury runs across Samia's face. She hides it quickly with a fake smile. "Oh, okay then. So that's your strategy then. Well, you'd be right. After breakfast, I was in the infirmary all day, continuing to take inventory." Her fake smile widen, and she puts on an extra layer of cheer in her voice. "Oh, I nearly forgot. What about you, Shizu? Where were you all day? Holed up in your room with your notes?"

Shizu grits her teeth. "From the afternoon to around 10 PM, yes, that was the case. However, I was also in the lounge by myself after breakfast until the afternoon."

"So you've got no one to verify your story either." Samia drops the act and scowls. "Don't lecture me on being suspicious when you've got basically the same story. At least give me that courtesy."

Exhaling sharply, Shizu states, "All I needed was your story, and it felt as though you were trying to hide that."

"Yeah, sure." Samia rolls her eyes. "Just think about what you say next time. Anyways, I stopped to eat dinner around 9, but I didn't see anyone at all. Once I was done, I went to bed. Then, this morning, I got woken up by the announcement, rushed over with Kaixi and Chouki, and that's about it. That's all you wanted, right?"

"That's all needed for your alibi, yes," Shizu confirms. "However, if you notice that anything else is missing, please inform me."

"What, aren't you afraid that I'm going to hide information?" Samia doesn't allow her to answer. "No wait, let me guess. Because I offered up the information about the poison and sleeping pills earlier, you don't think I'd hide anything else, right? Or, at least, you can't think of anything more important than those things."

Closing the cabinet, Shizu slowly makes her way to the entrance of the infirmary. "…It sounds like you have everything covered here."

"I do." Apparently done with this conversation, Samia turns back to what she was doing before. It might be her imagination, but it looks like she's looking through the infirmary supplies with a bit more force than before. Well, that's one way to make people work more vigorously. Great job, Shizu.

* * *

 _Alibis (Updated)_ _– What everyone claims to have done yesterday and this morning. These probably will not be helpful for this particular case, but it never hurts to collect more information._

 _\- Samia took inventory of the infirmary after eating breakfast. She stopped to eat dinner at 9 PM and then went to bed._

 _Infirmary Supply Shifting_ _– All of the sleeping pill and poison bottles were moved back to their original position. Samia claims to have only noticed this today, and she isn't sure if it happened earlier._

 _Poison Details_ _– The poison is lethal enough to kill someone within a minute of them ingesting it. It also causes blood clots to appear over the victim's body. It should be kept refrigerated when not in use._

 _Sleeping Pill Details_ _– A single pill is enough to put someone to sleep for about four hours. The pills are tasteless and odorless._

* * *

As she's walking down the hallway, Shizu decides to start her laundry. It's been at least twenty minutes by now, so whatever was being washed surely has finished by now. She could head the other direction and get the kit back faster, but there are some things that she wants to check out this way regardless.

To her immense displeasure, Morgan is already in the laundry room. From the looks of things, she's inspecting Shizu's clothes. "Hmm… So you've finally arrived." She looks over and smiles gracefully at Shizu.

"Please get away from my clothes," she replies flatly.

Morgan stands up and holds her hands in the air. "I was not tampering with them. I merely wished to see why you were doing laundry again. After all, I believe that you did that a few days ago. It is quite suspicious, if I may be so bold."

She straightens her glasses and gives an annoyed stare. "A cake hit me, so I'm washing my clothes before they stain."

"I have seen that," Morgan agrees. "I also see that someone else has claimed the washing machines previously. I hope you don't mind, but I took them out already." She points to the dryers on the other side of the room. There are two large sheets draped over them. "Those were what prevented you from getting your laundry done, were they not?"

"Apparently so," Shizu grumbles as she places her dirty clothes into one of the machines. "Who even does laundry this early, let alone sheets?"

There's a glint in Morgan's eyes. "If you are attempting to blame me for this, I assure you that you are incorrect. That was just the one time, after all. Now, I was wondering what the time on the machines was when you first arrived. How long were you supposed to wait?"

Shizu thinks back to earlier this morning. "It was about twenty minutes or so for both of them." As she says this, she hits the medium setting, and the display pops up with fifty minutes.

"I see…" Morgan then explains some more. "Then our mystery washer must have gotten up very early. The setting for sheets is the longest, at around two hours. They must have forgotten to come back after the horrible news this morning."

Standing up to face Morgan, Shizu says, "Is that a guess or a divination?"

"Not everything I say or do is related to fortune telling. Just because you live every moment of your life as a strategist does not mean that every Ultimate is exactly like you." Morgan giggles a little at the thought of that.

Shizu feels a vein throbbing in her forehead. "Very well then. Before I leave, would you please tell me what you were doing yesterday and this morning?"

"I had a suspicion you would ask me about that." Morgan clears her throat and recalls the previous events. "Yesterday, I did not venture out of my room, not even once. The spirits were calling to me too strongly, and I needed to make sure I did not misinterpret their voices. Such a thing could be catastrophic. And yet, something so tragic still happened…"

"You didn't get hungry?" Shizu asks, ignoring the latter part of her explanation.

Morgan raises a hand over her mouth. Her silver rings sparkle as she laughs. "I had a feeling that I would be in need of food over the coming days for a while now. I made sure to stockpile a few choice foods on prior days because of this."

She technically can't deny that, so she moves on. "And what of this morning?"

At this, Morgan sighs deeply. "I was awoken by the accursed announcement that one of my friends had died. I would have rushed out immediately, but I needed to prepare myself both physically and mentally. Half of improving one's mood is getting dressed up in the morning, if you didn't know. Still, I apologize for my lateness."

"…It's fine. Thank you for your time." Shizu's done everything that she wanted to in here, and she's not too keen on sticking around for much longer. She tells herself it's because there's still a lot she wants to check out, but that's only part of the reason.

"Take care of yourself, Shizu. I would like to see if I am able to divine the owner of these sheets. This may take some time, but I believe in you and all of the others to sniff out the culprit. Do take care of yourself." Having said this, Morgan turns her attention back to the sheets that are on top of the dryer. Shizu quickly exits before she changes her mind.

* * *

 _Alibis (Updated)_ _– What everyone claims to have done yesterday and this morning. These probably will not be helpful for this particular case, but it never hurts to collect more information._

 _\- Morgan was busy "communing with spirits" or whatever yesterday and did not leave her room at all._

 _\- Michio, Sawako, and Hachi met up around 8:30 AM today and found Takumi's body. Kaixi, Chouki, and Samia also met up after the body discovery announcement played. Morgan heard the announcement and came alone after getting ready for the day._

 _Sheets in the Washing Machine_ _– Someone put sets of sheets into the washing machine early this morning. I found this out around 8:30 AM when I went to do my own laundry. At this time, they had twenty minutes left in their cycle._

 _Washing Machines_ _– There are only two working washing machines in this building. They have three settings on them: short, which takes thirty minutes, medium, which takes fifty minutes, and long, which takes around two hours._

* * *

There's a strange noise coming from up ahead, where all of the second floor dorms are. Someone is ringing all of the doorbells or perhaps continuously ringing one of them. The sound carries in these hallways pretty well, and it's starting to get a little obnoxious. That can really only mean one thing.

As Shizu expected, Soraru is the cause of the chaos. Xe's standing in front of one of the doors hammering the doorbell as if xer life depends on it. She whistles harshly, and xe jumps.

"Hey, you're interrupting my very important investigation, Shizu!" Soraru places xer hands on xer hips and huffs. "Why would you even make such an annoying sound? Big Brother hates it when you do that!"

"Does Big Brother also hate you then?" she states flatly.

Soraru's eye twitches, and xe inhales sharply. "Don't even joke about that! You have no idea what you're talking about!"

"All that I know is that you're making quite the racket by ringing…" She glances at the pixel plate on the door and spies a telltale beanie and curly white hair. "Joshua's doorbell repeatedly. That's not doing anyone any good."

Xe pouts. "Huh? Huh? But I'm just trying to get him in on all the investigationy fun. Is that really so wrong?"

Giving xem a flat stare, Shizu asks, "Why don't you just talk to him? How is giving people a headache going to accomplish that?"

"Because," Soraru says emphatically, "I can't find him anywhere. How am I supposed to talk to someone who isn't around at all? Plus, if he's not out here, then he totally has to be inside his room. I won't tolerate him flat out ignoring me. If he's going to stay in his room, then he's going to get an earful of doorbell. It's only fair."

…Hmm… Now that she thinks back, she hasn't seen Joshua all day. That's honestly not all that surprising, seeing as he's usually late to the morning meetings. However, he's also normally awake by this point. If Soraru has been here for a while, he should have at least opening his door to tell xem off. Is he somehow still sleeping? And could he really sleep through doorbell spamming? Questions for later.

"Even so, if he hasn't responded by this point, I doubt he'll respond any time soon," she finally asserts. "Your efforts might be better spent elsewhere."

Soraru thinks this over. "Nah, I'm good. This is clearly the most effective way for me to help. By standing here and making sure that someone else isn't doing absolutely nothing. I'm like a hall monitor!"

"…Right. At least consider spacing out your doorbell presses. Spamming it nonstop clearly is not working." Shizu takes out her notepad. "One last thing. Could you please tell me what you were doing yesterday and this morning?"

"Ooooh! Alibi stuff! Very thorough." Xe nods along, as if xe's actually taking this seriously. "Well… I went to breakfast around 11, then I went back to my room, then I went out of my room, then I saw Chouki being a grump, then I made cake, then you came in and lectured me, then you left, then I left, then-"

"Okay, hold on one second." Her mind was barely able to process that mess. "You mentioned seeing Chouki. When was that?"

"Huh? Oh that was when I first came into the kitchen to make cake, maybe around 1-ish? He was carrying a lot of food, and he glared at me. The nerve of some people." Xe shakes xer head. "Anyways, where was I? Oh right! Then I feel asleep, then I woke up, then I ran into the dining hall, then I ran out of the dining hall, then I did this. And that's it!" Posing proudly with xer hands on xer hips, xe gives a cheeky grin.

It takes a few moments for her to write that down in a coherent manner. "So, for the most part, you didn't see anyone yesterday or today on your way to the dining hall, correct?"

"Do I need to repeat that again?" Soraru asks.

She suppresses a shudder. "Please don't."

Xe shrugs. "Suit yourself. I'm going to go back to doing whatever it was that I was doing. Have fun not talking to Joshua!"

Well that was almost a complete waste of time. At least she got some information about what Chouki was doing. Perhaps she can verify that later on… For now, she heads towards the elevator lobby.

* * *

 _Alibis (Updated)_ _– What everyone claims to have done yesterday and this morning. These probably will not be helpful for this particular case, but it never hurts to collect more information._

 _\- Soraru got breakfast at 11 AM, and then went back to xer room. At 1 PM xe started making xer cakes and ran into Chouki. Xe also talked with me around 2 PM. After xer cakes were done, xe went back to xer room for the rest of the day._

 _\- Michio, Sawako, and Hachi met up around 8:30 AM today and found Takumi's body. Kaixi, Chouki, and Samia also met up after the body discovery announcement played. Soraru didn't run into anyone this morning until xe got to the dining hall. Morgan heard the announcement and came alone after getting ready for the day._

* * *

There's already a group of people looking around the elevator lobby. Pal is standing in the middle of the hallway, staring blankly into space. Tsubame is kneeling on the floor next to the fallen cake, which Kaixi is taking pictures of. Standing away from the rest of the group, Kogi is looking up at something above the stairwell. Realizing that she forgot to question Soraru about this, Shizu curses internally.

Kaixi is the first person to see her approach. After taking one more picture of the cake on the floor, he waves to her. "Hey again, Shizu! Is that the thing you were getting for Michio?"

"This is the coroner's kit, yes," she responds.

He gives her a thumbs up. "Nice job."

"Hey Shizu," Tsubame mumbles, still looking at the cake. "Do you have any idea what happened here? It looks like this cake fell on someone, but everyone looks clean…"

"I would love to stay and help, but I really should be getting this to Michio as soon as possible." She holds the kit up again, in case Tsubame had missed what she had said a few moments ago. "If we can't get an autopsy, then we could be in a lot of trouble."

"Oh, I can take it over for you!" Kaixi offers. "I'm just about done here, so it's no trouble at all. Well, I shouldn't assume that you want to look around here, I guess, but the offer is there."

She gives him a thankful look. "If that's fine with you, by all means, take the kit. It would be a huge help."

He beams. "Of course! I'll get it over there before you know it. Good luck everyone!" Tsubame waves him off, Pal mumbles a quiet farewell, and Kogi ignores him completely.

Shizu turns back to Tsubame. "So, what exactly where you saying again? I wasn't entirely paying attention. My apologies."

"Oh, no worries." Tsubame repeats herself. "We were looking over this area together. Do you see that makeshift shelf over there?" She points at the wall next to the elevator. A wooden plank is dangling vertically. Half of it is held up by a series of magnetic clasps. Those clasps look like the same ones that Shizu used to hold up the clocks.

"I do. So, that shelf fell over then, presumably dropping the cake," she mutters.

"That appears to be… correct," Pal answers, finally coming out of his trance. "This was… no accident, however. If you look closely… on the ground, you will see… more of the clasps." Indeed, several clasps line the tile flooring. "Those clasps… seem to have been… pulled off."

Shizu asks, "Pulled off by what exactly?"

"We found…" Tsubame stops herself to give a quick correction. "Well, I suppose I should say that Kogi found this transparent wire that was snapped in half. The long end was tied to a bunch of the clasps, and the other end was connected to just in front of the elevator door."

Pal continues to explain. "It would seem that… someone stepped on the wire… and triggered the shelf to slant… which made the cake… fall to the floor."

As she's writing all of this down, she adjusts her glasses. "That all seems reasonable. What exactly is the problem then?"

"We don't know… who that person was…" Pal scratches his chin.

Tsubame tugs on her braid and stands up. "From the way the cake crumbs are positioned on the floor, it looks like whoever it stepped on the wire got hit. But neither of us has seen anyone covered in cake, and nobody said anything about it earlier, so we've come to an impasse."

From across the lobby, Kogi speaks up. "What a pain… I think it's pretty obvious who got hit."

Pal glares at the back of his head. "If that was the case… why would you not… speak up sooner?"

"I decided to make sure the trap worked like the way you said it did before making any assumptions," he answers smoothly. "Anyways, it was obviously Takumi."

"…What makes you think that?" Shizu questions him. She'll tell them soon enough, but he sounds very confident, and she would like to hear his reasoning.

"Got a few reasons actually," he claims. "First, from what I've gathered, he's always one of the first people to come down for breakfast in the morning. He'd be the logical first person to get hit. More importantly, didn't you all notice how he wasn't wearing his bag? It seems pretty likely that he got hit with that cake, it ruined his bag, and he was forced to take it off. Either that, or the killer didn't want us to know he got hit, so they took it off of him after they killed him."

Fidgeting in place, Tsubame mulls over his words. "I see… That makes an unfortunate amount of sense. To think that his last few moments were being hit by a cake and now this…"

"Good reasoning, but that's wrong," Shizu interjects before this line of reasoning can go on any longer. "I was the one who got hit."

Kogi stares at her. "Huh. That works too." He shrugs and goes back to looking at the stairwell. Actually, now that she takes a closer look, it appears that the same cake-shelf setup is over there as well.

"Huh?" Tsubame whirls around to look at Shizu. "But why aren't you covered in cake?"

"I changed clothes and took a shower. The other pair is currently being washed," she explains.

"I wish… you would have told us… sooner." Pal shakes his head and sighs. "However, at least… that is one mystery down."

"I was a too frustrated at the time to take a good look at my surroundings after I tripped and got hit, so thank you for figuring it out." Having said this, she changes the topic. "Now, not to be rude, but would you all mind telling me what you were doing yesterday and this morning? I'm collecting alibis."

Tsubame nods grimly. "Of course. Whatever I can do to help. If I remember correctly, I came down for breakfast with everyone else, but I spent most of the day alone until dinner."

"That is the same… for me," Pal comments. "We talked… around 11 AM, but you already… know that… However, I did see Chouki… around 1 PM… while I was attempted to draw… the others out. But he refused… to speak to me. That combined with… my lack of success… left me demoralized… so I left dinner… before the others finished eating."

As she jots this all down, she continues her questions. "You went to the lounge with the main group after dinner, right Tsubame?"

"That is correct," she confirms. "I left a little after you did, alongside Hachi. It was probably around 11:30, but I could be wrong about that. Both of us were starting to get drowsy, so we walked back together. Well, until I got to the elevator, but I think that should suffice."

"As for this morning, Tsubame and I… met up on the second floor… after hearing the announcement." Pal takes a moment to see if he's forgetting everything. "I believe that… this is all that… I did."

"Same with me. I hope that was helpful." Tsubame's fidgeting intensifies as she waits for a response.

"You both gave me a lot to think about. Thank you very much." Shizu then turns to address Kogi. "I still need your story."

"I heard you the first time," he calls back. "Not sure what you're expecting. The only time I left my room that day was to do laundry. That was three trips, around 9, 10, and 11 PM. But you already knew that, since you're the only person I saw that day."

"You didn't get anything to eat?" Tsubame asks, sounding a little concerned.

He shakes his head. "No need. I've got rations stockpiled in my room. I'm all set. Anyways, I came down here by myself after hearing the announcement. And what about you, Shizu? What were you doing?"

"After breakfast, I mostly just consulted my notes all day. I met up with Pal, as you already heard, as well as Soraru, but, until the after dinner meeting, I was alone," she explains. "You already know when we met up, and I already told you what I did this morning. Is that good enough for you?"

"Checks out for me," Kogi says nonchalantly. "Also, you might want to take notes on this."

"On what?" She asks, though she keeps her notepad out regardless.

Pal tilts his head. "Are you… planning on-"

He doesn't get to finish his sentence, as Kogi suddenly steps into the doorway to the stairwell. He doesn't press his foot down particularly hard, but she manages to hear a slight snapping sound. The remaining wooden shelf holding the cake begins to tilt, as the magnetic clasps on one end have come off. Having anticipated this, he steps back just in time to avoid getting hit by the falling dessert.

Gasping, Tsubame calls out, "Kogi! What were you thinking?"

"What a pain…" Kogi pinches his forehead. "I wanted to see how this trap worked, so I did. That's all there is to it. Not like it was dangerous since Shizu got hit. She looks completely fine, even after taking a metal plate to the back of the head."

"You should have… considered preserving… the evidence." Pal crosses his arms sternly.

Kogi rolls his eyes. "What for? Kaixi already took a bunch of pictures. We already have evidence for what this used to look like. Plus, now we all know for certain how it works."

In a quiet voice, Shizu states, "…There was probably a less reckless way to doing that, but thank you."

Tsubame ignores her, still concerned about what just happened. "But Kogi, what if you had gotten hit? You might have been hurt more than she was."

"You saying that she has a thick skull?" he deadpans.

"N-no, that's not it at all," she cries. "You really need to be more careful about these things."

Pal starts moving towards the protester, still looking stern. "At the very least, your clothes… might have been covered… in cake. That would have been… a great inconvenience."

This is starting to seem like a waste of time to Shizu. She's already got all of the evidence she needed from this area. Thus, she quietly mutters a goodbye to everyone and heads back to the dining room. She faintly hears Kogi continuing to be annoyed as Tsubame and Pal fret over his safety. Though their intentions are pure, this probably is just making him want to go back into isolation.

* * *

 _Alibis (Updated)_ _– What everyone claims to have done yesterday and this morning. These probably will not be helpful for this particular case, but it never hurts to collect more information._

 _\- Pal spent the day trying to draw the others out. He talked with me around 11 AM and saw Chouki around 1 PM, but he was unsuccessful otherwise._

 _\- Michio, Kazuha, Tsubame, Hachi, Kaixi, and Joshua went to lounge after dinner at 7 PM. I joined them around 10 PM. I remember Joshua leaving around 10:30 PM, and I left around 11 PM. Tsubame and Hachi left together around 11:30 PM. Michio and Kaixi were the last ones there, and left around 1 AM._

 _\- Kogi spent the entire day in his room, only coming out to handle laundry matters. He took three trips, which were at around 9 PM, 10 PM, and 11 PM. He only saw me on that day during his last trip._

 _\- Michio, Sawako, and Hachi met up around 8:30 AM today and found Takumi's body. Kaixi, Chouki, and Samia also met up after the body discovery announcement played. Shortly afterwards, Tsubame and Pal came to the dining hall together. Kogi ran over by himself. Soraru didn't run into anyone this morning until xe got to the dining hall. Morgan heard the announcement and came alone after getting ready for the day._

 _Cake Traps_ _– The second floor elevator and stairwell were rigged to drop cake on people. A transparent wire was set up to knock over some shelves, which would cause cakes resting on dishes to slide onto the head of the person who stepped on said wire. It looks as though it required a lot of setup time._

 _Broken Transparent Wire_ _– This is the wire that I tripped over this morning. It's transparent, which makes it very hard to see. Unless you knew it was there, it is unlikely that you would be able to avoid it._

* * *

The dining hall looks almost the same as when she was first there. Kaixi has gone back to taking photos, though, this time, the subject matter appears to be Michio. Now that he has that coroner's kit, he seems almost like he's in a trance. The clicking of the nearby camera isn't even fazing him. Even Sawako looks a little bewildered by how fervently he's working. She considers stepping over to ask him but thinks better of it. There will be time later.

For now, she heads into the kitchen proper. There's a full team looking around here as well. However, now that she sees who is here, that may be a bit generous of her. Kazuha is currently attempting to comfort Hachi, who is sitting on the counter and is struggling to hold back tears. Chouki is also here, although it appears that he would rather be anywhere else.

"Is everything alright in here?" Shizu asks, mostly directing the question to Hachi.

She sniffles. "Y-yeah. I just… It's nothing."

Kazuha shakes her head rapidly. "N-no, it's not nothing. One of our friends just died. We can't just pretend that everything is already."

"Bold of you to assume that Takumi was anyone's friend," Chouki mumbles as he looks down at the trash can and narrows his eyes.

As Kazuha glares in his direction, Shizu interjects to stop any fighting from breaking out. "Kazuha is correct, Hachi. There's no need to force yourself to be okay for the moment. We will have to pull ourselves together for the trial later, but, for now, it is alright to let it all out."

"Yeah, what Shizu said," Kazuha rapidly agrees. "Please don't bottle everything up too much. Not everyone has to be strong at all times. And this is one of those times where that's super reasonable."

"The same goes for you as well, Kazuha," Shizu points out.

She starts shaking a little. "H-huh? I don't-"

Not letting her finish, Shizu continues talking. "I'm not the best people person, but this is clearly affecting you a lot as well. It's great that you're trying to be there for Hachi, but, if you try to force yourself to be strong, you'd still be part of the problem."

She looks at the floor and plays with the brim of her cap. "O-oh… I just wanted to… I mean… Ugh…" Burying her head in her hand, she cries, "I'm a complete mess, aren't I?"

"As I just said, that's completely fine." Shizu attempts to assuage Kazuha's concerns.

Hachi lefts out a particularly loud sniff but, then, holds her head up high. There's a glint in her eye that looks a little powerful. "Sh-shizu's right, but even so… You're trying really hard, aren't you Kazuha? And you too, Shizu." She doesn't wait for either of them to say anything. "You're both working so hard to make things better, and I'm just sitting here crying. Th-that's not fair to anyone else. So, for everyone, I'll d-do it!"

She leaps off of the counter and onto the floor, stumbling slightly as she tries to get a good footing. "Hachi, be careful," Kazuha says, eyes wide. Her voice falls on deaf ears, however.

"W-we should be doing some investigating, r-right?" Hachi asks, putting on her bravest face despite her stuttering.

Chouki responds harshly. "Did you just figure that out? Yes."

Ignoring his tone, Hachi looks even more determined. "R-right. Okay th-then. I think I n-noticed something that c-could be useful."

"Oh really?" Kazuha stands up as well and looks at her friend curiously. "Oh, wait, that probably sounded really rude, didn't it? I didn't mean to doubt you at all…"

Letting out a little giggle, Hachi says, "Nah, it's f-fine. I've k-kinda been down f-for a while." She takes a few steps over to the refrigerator, opens it, and points inside. "S-so, I was g-gonna get s-something to eat to c-calm me down, but that's when I n-noticed that s-some of the milk cartons are s-stacked funny."

Peering into the fridge, Shizu sees what she's talking about. On one of the lower shelves, there's just a row of milk cartons going across the entire shelf. It looks a little like a blockade now that she thinks about it. However, she probably wouldn't have thought anything of it if Hachi hadn't said anything. "That is peculiar…"

"Is there anything back there? I can't see from this angle," Kazuha says, trying to look past them.

Shizu adds, "I can't see from here either."

"I don't think so…" Hachi pulls out one of the cartons. Just as she said, there isn't anything back there. However, the placement of the milk is so odd. What could it mean?

Kazuha voices her thoughts. "Well, that's really strange. But still, nice find Hachi!"

Beaming with pride, Hachi sniffles again. However, Chouki doesn't seem all that impressed. "So, in the end, you didn't find anything."

Shizu raises an eyebrow. "…No, she literally found the strangely placed milk cartons."

"So what? There wasn't anything back there, so it could have just been how Monokuma put them down. No need to treat it like some big discovery." He traces the tattoos of his veins as he stands up.

Placing her hands on her hips, Kazuha leans in towards him. "Okay Chouki, since you're so critical of Hachi, what exactly did you find then?"

Chouki holds up what appears to be a plastic bag that's been torn open. It looks a little wet, like it's been rinsed out. "I found this while digging through the trash."

"…So you found nothing then?" Kazuha retorts, sounding only a little bit smug.

He growls. "I found that there's nothing else in the trash, so the culprit didn't throw anything away. I think that's a pretty big clue."

"G-guys, we should stop f-fighting." Hachi attempts to get between them, placing a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Whatever, I don't need this." Chouki tosses the plastic bag onto the floor and shoves Hachi away. "You all can go hang around here. I've got better things to do." Muttering to himself, he shoves his hands into his pockets and moves to leave.

"Wait, before you go, please tell me what you were doing today and yesterday," Shizu calls out before he gets too far.

He keeps walking but calls back, "Nothing. I was in my room. Came out around 1 PM and when I heard the body discovery announcement, but that's it." He doesn't clarify any further and leaves the kitchen too quickly for her to stop him. Shizu tightens her grip on her pen.

"Um… Do you want us to t-tell you what we did as well?" Hachi meekly asks, still frozen in place.

She sighs. "I would very much appreciate that, yes."

"W-well, I kind of w-was alone for m-most of the day… It wasn't until d-dinner that I saw anyone else again." Hachi claims.

Kazuha plays with the brim of her cap, but answers similarly. "It was kind of the same for me… I wasn't feeling too great, so I spent a lot of that time alone in my room. I mean, at least we had a nice long chat after dinner. That was fun!"

Starting to cheer up a little, Hachi agrees. "Y-yeah, you're right. You stayed even later than I did, right?"

"Yeah, I left a little before midnight," Kazuha says after giving it some thought. "You left a bit earlier with Tsubame, right?"

Hachi puffs out her cheeks. "Around 11:30 PM, yeah. I was feeling super sleepy, but I wanted to stay for longer. Maybe I should have stayed a bit later… Because of that, I woke up in time to meet Michio and Sawako on their way down."

"Hey, don't even think about stuff like that. You couldn't have known anything. Besides, we all get tired at some point. I think Kaixi and Michio stayed up even longer. I don't know how they did it. I was so tired that I woke up late and had to rush down after hearing the announcement," Kazuha replies.

Laughing a little, Hachi jokes, "Maybe they just never shut their eyes. Like Kaixi lets his camera do all of the blinking for him and Michio only lets the dead rest but never himself."

"They're not robots or superheroes, Hachi." Nevertheless, Kazuha laughs along with her.

At least they're both finally feeling better… Shizu decides to leave them be for now. They might as well get a little bit more laughter in before things get truly awful. Besides, they were a great help, even if they didn't think so. She's only got a few more stops left before she feels ready, so, unfortunately, she can't stick around.

* * *

 _Alibis (Updated)_ _– What everyone claims to have done yesterday and this morning. These probably will not be helpful for this particular case, but it never hurts to collect more information._

 _\- Michio, Kazuha, Tsubame, Hachi, Kaixi, and Joshua went to lounge after dinner at 7 PM. I joined them around 10 PM. I remember Joshua leaving around 10:30 PM, and I left around 11 PM. Tsubame and Hachi left together around 11:30 PM. Kazuha left a little before 12 AM. Michio and Kaixi were the last ones there, and left around 1 AM._

 _\- Chouki only left his room around 1 PM yesterday. He didn't mention seeing anyone, though he could have just viewed that information as non-important._

 _\- Michio, Sawako, and Hachi met up around 8:30 AM today and found Takumi's body. Kaixi, Chouki, and Samia also met up after the body discovery announcement played. Shortly afterwards, Tsubame and Pal came to the dining hall together. Kazuha ran over to the dining hall by herself, as did Kogi. Soraru didn't run into anyone this morning until xe got to the dining hall. Morgan heard the announcement and came alone after getting ready for the day._

 _Milk Cartons_ _– Hachi discovered that someone lined up the milk cartons in the kitchen's fridge so that they blocked part of the fridge from view. Something could be hidden there, but nothing of the sort was found._

 _Plastic Bag_ _– Chouki found a torn-open, slightly wet plastic bag in the trash can in the kitchen. Nothing else was found in the trash._

* * *

The pantry is Shizu's next stop, seeing as it's right there. The only person inside is Fumika, who is standing at the very back of the room in the process of closing the cleaning closet. She spins around when she hears the pantry door open but relaxes at the sight of Shizu.

"You could work on your timing a little. If you had been any earlier, I wouldn't have wasted all of my time putting everything back," Fumika claims as she begrudgingly reopens the closet.

Shizu hurries over, raising an eyebrow in the process. "I take it that you found something important."

"I found something that someone didn't want anyone to find," Fumika states. "As for whether or not it's important, I'll leave that for everyone else to decide."

While watching Fumika dig around in the closet for a minute, Shizu takes out her notepad and spins her pen around. Apparently, Fumika's previous investigation was messy, as she's taking the time to make sure nothing spills or is too ruffled up as she moves them out of the way. Finally, she turns back towards Shizu holding a stack of red towels.

"Take a good feel." To emphasize her point, she holds them out further, as if to entice Shizu.

"…Okay then." It's a bit of an odd request, but she obliges. She pokes, prod, and rubs them experimentally. There's really only one conclusion she can draw. "They're wet. Someone was using them to dry something."

Fumika nods briefly. "Good, so it wasn't just me that thought that. I didn't think I was fooling myself, but you can never be too careful."

"Those towels were really far back there," Shizu notes.

"I'm certain that someone was trying to hide them. Why else would you put them all the way in the back? Maybe the culprit was wiping up some blood stains or something. It would explain why those chose red towels, since we'd have a harder time verifying if that was the case." Having said that, Fumika starts putting everything back into the closet.

"Is that all that you noticed in here?" Shizu inquires. She feels as though she should help her pack up, but she doesn't want to get in the way or put something in the wrong place.

"That's all." However, Fumika suddenly snaps her fingers. "Wait a second… I wanted to give you my alibi for the past while. It's not much, but you'd probably ask me anyways."

That came as a bit of a shock. Nobody else has offered yet. "…Very astute of you. In that case, please tell me what you did yesterday and this morning."

She taps her chin. "That far back huh? Well, my story's the same. I never left my room yesterday, and I came down to the dining hall alone, after everyone else arrived. There's no way to verify that of course, so feel free to doubt me all you want."

"Are you hoping that, by offering this information up freely, it will make you look less suspicious?" That's really the only reason that Shizu can think of for anyone to willingly tell her such a flimsy alibi.

"Think whatever you want." Shrugging, Fumika resumes putting everything back. "You're done here, right? You'd better keep looking around before time runs out. Who knows when Monokuma will get bored."

"Thank you very much for your cooperation. I'll see you soon." Seeing Fumika nod in response, Shizu steps out of the pantry, leaving her to her menial task.

* * *

 _Alibis (Updated)_ _– What everyone claims to have done yesterday and this morning. These probably will not be helpful for this particular case, but it never hurts to collect more information._

 _\- Fumika never left her room at any point yesterday_

 _\- Michio, Sawako, and Hachi met up around 8:30 AM today and found Takumi's body. Kaixi, Chouki, and Samia also met up after the body discovery announcement played. Shortly afterwards, Tsubame and Pal came to the dining hall together. Kazuha ran over to the dining hall by herself, as did Kogi. Soraru didn't run into anyone this morning until xe got to the dining hall. Morgan heard the announcement and came alone after getting ready for the day. Fumika was the last person to arrive after hearing the announcement._

 _Red Towels_ _– Fumika discovered that a few of the towels in the pantry's cleaning closet were slightly wet. Someone probably wiped up something, but, due to the towel's red color, we are unable to tell if it's blood or now._

* * *

Hachi and Kazuha are still talking amicably in the kitchen, though they have been joined by Kaixi. He's only half-joining in on their conversation, as he's taking a few pictures of the kitchen itself. Shizu thinks about putting the plastic bag back in the trash, but she decides that it's not worth her time. Instead, she chooses to look in the last place she has yet the check, which is the freezer.

She shudders involuntarily once she steps inside. She's never been a fan of the cold, so she should really make this quick. A fast scan of the room reveals nothing new to her, but that really shouldn't be the end of her investigation. There's nobody else in here either, so she can't rely on them to give her information.

The only thing that she finds on the shelves is a place where it looks like something was removed, as all of the surrounding food has been pushed aside. Judging by the shape of the empty spots and the print left on the shelf, it was probably Soraru's cakes. The outlines are the exact sizes and shapes of the platters that the cakes were on, so they were probably stored in here. After all, if they were in the fridge, people would be more likely to take them.

Finally, she gets to the container at the back of the room. Now that she's thinking about it, it's actually pretty large. If someone wanted to, they could hide something inside of it. The ice cream inside is dense enough to obscure anything at the bottom from view. With that in mind, she slides it open and begins to dig.

Unfortunately, that's when she hears a chime ring out. Then, Monokuma's voice fills the room. "Attention all Ultimates: Investigation time has ended, so stop whatever it is that you're doing. Please make your way to the elevator on the second floor. An Ultimate Trial is about to start!"

Shizu curses the bear but does as he says. She really doesn't want to get punished, after all.

* * *

 _Freezer Container_ _– There's a large container full of ice cream at the back of the freezer. It's possible to hide something large inside, but I was unable to verify whether something was inside or not._

* * *

Shizu is stopped by Michio as she enters the dining hall. All of the others have already left, so he must have waited for her. "Hold up there Shizu. I wanted to thank you for getting that kit for me. I didn't have a lot of time, but I figured you'd want to hear my report regardless."

She adjusts her glasses. "It's no problem. Can we walk and talk?"

"Sure thing." They both exit the dining hall in tandem. "So, I wanted to tell you that Takumi definitely only had the one injury, at least externally. However, that isn't what killed him."

"Are you certain?" she asks. "If that isn't it, then what was the cause of death?"

Michio adjusts his cap and frowns. "Uh… I'm a little ashamed to admit it, but I haven't got a clue. Don't get me wrong, he was hit really hard. But I'm positive that it wouldn't have been enough to do him in. That being said, I didn't have enough time to find out exactly what it was, and I tried a few things that seemed likely, but none of them worked."

Swallowing a little, Shizu takes it in stride. "Okay then. What else have you got?"

"Again, I didn't have a lot of time, but I managed to narrow down his time of death to sometime last night," Michio claims.

It's just one casual bombshell after another. "Again, are you completely sure about this?"

"Look, autopsies are supposed to be done over the course of a few hours by most people. I may be the Ultimate Coroner, but I'm not a miracle worker. I'd still need at least an hour to be completely confident in my results." He crosses his arms. "But, unless that kit you brought me was messed with in some way, I'm pretty sure that everything I've said it correct."

"…Alright. You did well, Michio," she praises.

He gives a beleaguered laugh. "Ha. I blame that damn bear. He barely gave us any time at all for that. …Fuck, that pun wasn't intentional. Just ignore that."

"Noted." She smiles a little at his attempt to lighten the mood as they finally reach the elevator lobby.

* * *

 _Michio's Autopsy of Takumi_ _– The cause of death is unknown. The time of death was sometime late last night. Due to time constraints, this information may not be entirely accurate, no matter what Michio says._

* * *

As Shizu finishes looking over all of her evidence, she hears Kazuha cry out, "Huh? What's all this stuff?"

"Believe me, it's too stupid to even be worth thinking about," Kogi replies.

Fumika stares flatly at the cake littering the floor. "What a mess… Didn't anyone think that this was worth cleaning up or something?"

"It might be… vital evidence…" Pal says, though even he sounds uncertain of that.

"Congratulations, we've found the key to solving the great cake murder," Chouki mockingly claims, a pout on his face.

Pal looks a little hurt. "You do not need… to be so rude."

"…Sorry." That's all Chouki is willing to give, but at least it's something.

Morgan chooses this time to speak up. "Regardless of that, I am a bit confused why Monokuma did not clean this all up. He is the one who summoned us all here. Did he not think it important to make this meeting ground presentable?"

Pulling on the straps of his backpack, Kaixi says, "Uh… No offense, but I have a hard time seeing Monokuma caring about something like this."

"Speaking of that bear, where is he?" Sawako scowls. "What kind of person is late to their own meeting?"

Another chime rings out. "Attention all Ultimates: This is seriously your last warning! Get to the second floor elevator lobby or face immediate punishment!"

Everyone looks around the room frantically. Who's the person that's missing? Then, Shizu remembers.

As this happens, Monokuma pops out of nowhere. "Geez! You'd think that threats would be suitable motivation. The nerve of some people! I can't believe someone would try and ditch something of such ultimate importance!"

"What are you talking about?" Michio lifts up his hat and scratches the hair underneath it. "Aren't we all here?"

"Surely you're not suggesting that Takumi should show up," Sawako grunts, a poisonous look flashing through her eyes.

Monokuma waves his hand. "Nah, nothing like that. Dead is dead. There's a certain someone who apparently thinks that they're above my power! How dare they?! If they don't show up soon-"

"Wait up! I'm here!"

The shout precedes the desperate footsteps of someone approaching. Within a few seconds, Joshua comes sprinting in, still in his pajamas and dripping with sweat. No wait, that's not sweat. There's too much of it. It looks like water.

"Hey, you finally made it!" Soraru cheers. "You were about to be super punished, but I knew you wouldn't let that happen!"

"Gah, sorry about that! I was really tired this morning and I only woke up a few minutes ago. I only heard that announcement when I got into the shower, so I barely had time to dry off and get dressed!" Joshua blurts out before leaning over and panting heavily.

Monokuma gives a sinister grin. "You sure know how to make a dramatic entrance. But don't cut it so late next time. I won't always be this forgiving. Now then, everyone, onto the elevator. We're about to begin the Ultimate Trial of Takumi Haruko!"

"Huh? Did Takumi do something?" Joshua asks.

Shrugging, Monokuma states, "Nah, he just died."

"Oh, okay. Thanks man." Joshua nods along. Then, he blinks rapidly, and his eyes widen fully. "Wait, what now?"

"No more dilly-dallying, get on the elevator!"

With that command, everyone files onto the elevator. The only exception is Joshua, who is physically pushed inside by Soraru.

* * *

 _Alibis (Updated)_ _– What everyone claims to have done yesterday and this morning. These probably will not be helpful for this particular case, but it never hurts to collect more information._

 _\- Michio, Sawako, and Hachi met up around 8:30 AM today and found Takumi's body. Kaixi, Chouki, and Samia also met up after the body discovery announcement played. Shortly afterwards, Tsubame and Pal came to the dining hall together. Kazuha ran over to the dining hall by herself, as did Kogi. Soraru didn't run into anyone this morning until xe got to the dining hall. Morgan heard the announcement and came alone after getting ready for the day. Joshua slept in and never made it to the dining hall._

* * *

The panel showing all of the available floors has changed. Now, it only displays Monokuma's face with the label "Trial Grounds". As Sawako is the person closest to it and nobody else seems to want to move, she presses it. The elevator shuts its doors and begins traveling downwards at a rapid pace.

"This uh… this sure is taking a while," Joshua says, chuckling nervously.

"It's like an amusement park ride, except it's full of terror instead of laughs!" Soraru cheers. "Wait… never mind, those are also full of terror. Seriously, do not trust those things."

Kazuha gulps. "How far down are we going?"

"We're definitely in some kind of basement," Michio claims.

"This elevator is nearly full, and yet, it feels empty now that one of us is dead…" Tsubame mutters, though her words carry throughout the elevator. This shuts everyone up, and the rest of the ride is devoid of speaking.

Eventually, the elevator dings, and the doors open. Their stop is much different from the rest of the floors that they've seen so far. Directly in front of them is a giant circle of podiums. Behind that circle, a tall desk, like one a judge might sit at, looms over everything. Everything is wooden, and it looks almost like it could be in an actual courtroom.

From behind the judge's desk, Monokuma leaps out. "You all made it here safely! Glad none of you keeled over on the ride down. How do you like the place? Pretty snazzy, right?"

"You would dare make a mockery of the legal system?" Sawako shouts, balling her firsts.

He laughs at her. "You know it! Now, enough chatter! Everyone, find the podium with your name on it and stand there. Let's stop wasting time and get this trial started!"

"Literally only one person was chattering…" Chouki mutters under his breath but follows the instructions anyways.

Shizu steps forwards as well, finding that her podium is the one directly opposite Monokuma's desk. This feels almost fitting in a way, though that thought is a little terrifying. She'd also rather not have to look at that bear for the entire trial.

Desperate to distract herself, her eyes eventually land on something strange. At one of the podiums, there is a grayscale picture of Takumi's face, with the bag on of course, with a giant red X over it. That… must be where he would have sat if he…

Takumi Haruko, the Ultimate Cover Artist, was not the easiest person in the world to get along with. He was paranoid, rude, sarcastic, and blew up over tiny things. But Shizu can't help but remember the time that he came to her awkwardly, desperately trying to apologize to Kazuha and Hachi for his actions. He might have been someone who was always regretful of the ways that he could hurt people but never truly trusted them or himself…

But now she'll never know that.

Joshua leans against his podium, looking nervously at the others who know infinitely more about this than he does. Samia looks softly towards Takumi's portrait. Pal looks to the floor, unable to meet anyone else's gaze. Kaixi searches everyone else's faces, desperate to believe that every one of them is innocent. Morgan frowns as she looks behind her to see Monokuma smiling back. Chouki crosses his arms and huffs.

He's dead, and she's never going to know what he thought or why he thought the way he did. She'll never know why he became a cover artist or what his life was like. The only time she ever saw his true face was when he was already dead.

Kogi shoves his hands in his pockets and narrows his eyes. Soraru bounces up and down but stops whenever xe catches a glimpse of Takumi's portrait. Hachi takes several deep breaths and steadies herself against her podium. Fumika glares dead ahead, accepting the horrible lot she's been given.

Someone in this room murdered him. They had it in them to take a life. No matter the reason, no matter how sympathetic the motives, no matter what they were thinking… Takumi is dead because of them. They talked to him, they saw him on a daily basis, and yet they still were able to go through with it.

Sawako stares at her clenched fist that she pounded against her podium. Kazuha looks uneasily around the room, trying to find something comforting. Michio smiles casually in her direction, but his eyes betray his seriousness. Tsubame tugs on her braid and shuts her eyes tight.

There's only one way forward. She's going to solve this mystery, and nothing is going to stop her.

Shizu opens her eyes, adjusts her glasses, and forces herself to smile. Bring it on.

* * *

A/N: Here it is! The first investigation! I hope that it answers just as many questions as it raises. Or, at least, I hope that maybe you might be able to guess who the killer is from the clues given? If you're feeling brave enough, there's a poll on my profile page where you can test your luck. You get two guesses, so you've got a little room for error. Give it a shot. Have fun. Don't explode. All that jazz. At the very least, I hope that this chapter was not terrible. It was a bit nerve-wracking getting it out there, so I hope you all enjoy.

In any case, the next chapter is going to be the start of the trial. Fingers crossed that that one goes well, because I'm also stressing out about that one. Whatever the case, thank you to everyone who reviewed or speculated about my story, because that means the world to me. As always, I hope you have a fantastic day!


	13. Chapter 1: A Different Kind of Prison 07

Beta Read by Lupus Overkill

* * *

 _Shizu's Notes for Takumi's Trial_

 _Character Profiles_ _– The notes I built from talking with everyone here. Some of these notes may be incorrect due to incorrect speculation, but they still hold my gut feelings about everyone._

 _Rules_ _– The rules of the Ultimate Game. They give us some idea of what's impossible for people to do, though there may be loopholes to exploit._

 _1\. Violence against Monokuma is explicitly forbidden._

 _2\. We are not allowed to force our way past any areas marked with Monokuma's face._

 _3\. Nighttime begins at 12 am and ends at 8 am. Announcements will be made at both times._

 _4\. Punishments vary in severity._

 _5\. Monokuma may change the rules at any time._

 _6\. In order to win the game, we must kill someone without anyone else figuring out that we are the culprit._

 _7\. A body discovery announcement plays once three people discover a body for the first time, which signals the start of a trial._

 _8\. A majority vote for the correct culprit results in punishment for them, while an incorrect majority vote results in everyone else being punished and that person getting to go free. The punishment for either party is execution._

 _Dining Hall Restrictions_ _– At nighttime, the doors to the dining hall are marked with Monokuma's face. Thus, during that time, it is impossible to access the dining hall, kitchen, pantry, and freezer. Monokuma uses this period to restock food and keep everything clean._

 _Alibis_ _– What everyone claims to have done yesterday and this morning. These probably will not be helpful for this particular case, but it never hurts to collect more information._

 _\- Everyone except for the split group met for breakfast yesterday._

 _\- Michio, Kazuha, Tsubame, Hachi, Pal, Kaixi, and Joshua met for dinner yesterday at 6 PM. Pal split off from the group after he finished eating._

 _\- Michio, Kazuha, Tsubame, Hachi, Kaixi, and Joshua went to lounge after dinner at 7 PM. I joined them around 10 PM. I remember Joshua leaving around 10:30 PM, and I left around 11 PM. Tsubame and Hachi left together around 11:30 PM. Kazuha left a little before 12 AM. Michio and Kaixi were the last ones there, and left around 1 AM._

 _\- Pal spent the day trying to draw the others out. He talked with me around 11 AM and saw Chouki around 1 PM, but he was unsuccessful otherwise._

 _\- Sawako stood guard at the storage room from 10 AM to 10 PM. I was the only person she saw during that time._

 _\- Samia took inventory of the infirmary after eating breakfast. She stopped to eat dinner at 9 PM and then went to bed._

 _\- Kogi spent the entire day in his room, only coming out to handle laundry matters. He took three trips, which were at around 9 PM, 10 PM, and 11 PM. He only saw me on that day during his last trip._

 _\- Fumika never left her room at any point yesterday_

 _\- Chouki only left his room around 1 PM yesterday. He didn't mention seeing anyone, though he could have just viewed that information as non-important._

 _\- Morgan was busy "communing with spirits" or whatever yesterday and did not leave her room at all._

 _\- Soraru got breakfast at 11 AM, and then went back to xer room. At 1 PM xe started making xer cakes and ran into Chouki. Xe also talked with me around 2 PM. After xer cakes were done, xe went back to xer room for the rest of the day._

 _\- Michio, Sawako, and Hachi met up around 8:30 AM today and found Takumi's body. Kaixi, Chouki, and Samia also met up after the body discovery announcement played. Shortly afterwards, Tsubame and Pal came to the dining hall together. Kazuha ran over to the dining hall by herself, as did Kogi. Soraru didn't run into anyone this morning until xe got to the dining hall. Morgan heard the announcement and came alone after getting ready for the day. Joshua slept in and never made it to the dining hall._

 _Body Discovery (Takumi)_ _– The announcement played when Michio, Sawako, and Hachi discovered Takumi's body in the dining hall a little after 8:30 AM._

 _Status of Takumi's Body_ _– His only external injury is on the back of his head. According the Michio, it was most likely caused by a blunt object. Because of this, it is incredibly bloody._

 _Takumi's Cereal_ _– Takumi's last meal was a bowl of cereal with milk. From the looks of things, he barely had the chance to eat any of it. The half-empty box is still sitting there, as if he had just poured it out._

 _Takumi's Bag_ _– The bag that Takumi normally wears on his head is missing. It is unknown whether the culprit disposed of it or he simply chose not to wear it, though the latter seems unlikely._

 _Infirmary Supply Shifting_ _– All of the sleeping pill and poison bottles were moved back to their original position. Samia claims to have only noticed this today, and she isn't sure if it happened earlier._

 _Poison Details_ _– The poison is lethal enough to kill someone within a minute of them ingesting it. It also causes blood clots to appear over the victim's body. It should be kept refrigerated when not in use._

 _Sleeping Pill Details_ _– A single pill is enough to put someone to sleep for about four hours. The pills are tasteless and odorless._

 _Sheets in the Washing Machines_ _– Someone put sets of sheets into the washing machine early this morning. I found this out around 8:30 AM when I went to do my own laundry. At this time, they had twenty minutes left in their cycle._

 _Washing Machines_ _– There are only two working washing machines in this building. They have three settings on them: short, which takes thirty minutes, medium, which takes fifty minutes, and long, which takes around two hours._

 _Cake Traps_ _– The second floor elevator and stairwell were rigged to drop cake on people. A transparent wire was set up to knock over some shelves, which would cause cakes resting on dishes to slide onto the head of the person who stepped on said wire. It looks as though it required a lot of setup time._

 _Broken Transparent Wire_ _– This is the wire that I tripped over this morning. It's transparent, which makes it very hard to see. Unless you knew it was there, it is unlikely that you would be able to avoid it._

 _Milk Cartons_ _– Hachi discovered that someone lined up the milk cartons in the kitchen's fridge so that they blocked part of the fridge from view. Something could be hidden there, but nothing of the sort was found._

 _Plastic Bag_ _– Chouki found a torn-open, slightly wet plastic bag in the trash can in the kitchen. Nothing else was found in the trash._

 _Red Towels_ _– Fumika discovered that a few of the towels in the pantry's cleaning closet were slightly wet. Someone probably wiped up something, but, due to the towels' red color, we are unable to tell if it's blood for now._

 _Freezer Container_ _– There's a large container full of ice cream at the back of the freezer. It's possible to hide something large inside, but I was unable to verify whether something was inside or not._

 _Michio's Autopsy of Takumi_ _– The cause of death is unknown. The time of death was sometime late last night. Due to time constraints, this information may not be entirely accurate, no matter what Michio says._

* * *

 **Ultimate Trial Start**

Monokuma clears his throat once everyone has settled in behind their podiums. "Now then, let's begin with a simple explanation for how the Ultimate Trial will work. Over the course of the trial, you will present your arguments for who you think Takumi's killer is. At the end, you'll vote for whodunit! If you vote correctly, then I'll have the culprit executed. But if you pick the wrong person, then I'll execute everyone besides the culprit, and only they will be allowed to leave this place alive."

"That's such a cruel rule…" Tsubame mumbles. "No matter what we do, we're going to lose at least one more person. I can't even bear to think about it."

"You'd better start bearing to think about it or it's all of our necks on the line," Chouki retorts. "Don't start going soft on us because you're feeling sympathy for a murderer. It's us or them."

Hachi makes a choking sound. "B-but what if that's just what Monokuma wants us to think? What if he's just trying to divide us and there is no murderer?"

"Then why did Takumi die?" Kogi asks, starting directly into her eyes. When she tries to look away, he persists. "The only other option is that he committed suicide. Is that what you're suggesting?"

"N-no, that's not it at all!" she fervently denies. "But w-why are we just trusting Monokuma? H-how do we know that h-he isn't the k-killer?"

"Trying to shift the blame onto me, huh? I won't let you do that!" Monokuma bangs his paw on the desk like a gavel.

Fumika stares at him, as if challenging him. "But we don't have any guarantee that you weren't responsible for anything we found today. Even if you weren't directly responsible for Takumi's death, you might have played a hand in getting rid of evidence or hiding things for the culprit."

"Y-yeah!" Kaixi agrees. "You're totally suspicious. You're definitely behind it all!"

"No, no, no! I'm the judge, and the judge is impartial! I had no hand in any crime committed today, nor will I ever have a hand in any future crimes." He stops his ranting to scratch his chin. "Well, besides kidnapping and blackmailing, but those are pretty minor when compared to murder."

"Let's make it official then," Shizu challenges him. "Add those stipulations to the rules."

"Fine, if it makes you happy, then I'll add it." Clearing his throat, he then dictates a new rule. "Rule 9: I, that is Monokuma, will never be responsible for a murder or cleanup of a crime scene, barring punishments of course. There, you happy now?"

"All of our lives are on the line. Do you really expect me to be happy?" she deadpans.

Monokuma winks at her. "Great! Then, without further ado, let the Ultimate Trial commence!"

* * *

 _Rules (Updated)_ _– The rules of the Ultimate Game. They give us some idea of what's impossible for people to do, though there may be loopholes to exploit._

 _9\. With the exception of punishments, Monokuma will never kill or tamper with a crime scene._

* * *

Despite the cheerful declaration, nobody seems to want to say anything. It's as if they're all worried that, by getting the discussion started, they'll unleash some terrible beast that will devour them all. Perhaps the beast of suspicion, if such a creature even exists…

As she muses about this, Joshua decides to break the silence. "So… uh… What exactly are we doing here? I kind of missed all of the preamble due to the whole being super asleep thing."

"We need to find out who killed Takumi. Is there something about that which mystifies you?" Morgan asks.

He tugs on his beanie awkwardly. "Well, I mean, I kind of get that, but, like, how? Is there some sort of protocol we're supposed to be following? Are we supposed to figure out anything else as well? I'm kind of confused where to start…"

"Don't worry, I've got you." Soraru winks and gives a thumbs-up. "We just need to start randomly accusing people until someone fesses up. This is clearly the best strategy. Let's start by yelling at Chouki!"

"What? What kind of stupid logic is that?" Chouki yells.

Xe simply grins. "Well, you've been nothing but a big Grumpy Gus this entire time, so it's probably your fault."

Tracing the tattoos on his veins and sighing, he growls, "Oh like you've been any better. You've been doing nothing but pranking people ever since we got here. Maybe you're the one who snapped!"

At this accusation, xe starts sniffling. "W-what? Do you really think that I'd k-kill someone?" Tears start to leak from xer eyes. "H-how could you say something like that?!"

"H-hey, it's okay, Soraru," Kazuha attempts to console xem. "There's no need to cry. Chouki's just being mean."

Fumika groans. "And Soraru's just being fake. Don't fall for xer games, not at a time like this."

Michio slams both of his hands onto his podium, silencing everyone immediately. "Guys! We're not getting anywhere like this. Randomly accusing people isn't going to get us anywhere," he pleads, his hands shaking as he grips the front of his podium. "We need to start from some grounded place, something that we know definitely happened. If we try to solve all of the mysteries, or even just the biggest mystery, right at the start, we're going to hit a big brick wall."

"Michio is correct." Sawako throws her hat into the ring and announces, "Suspecting each other is unfortunately inevitable, but, for now, it's best to treat everyone as if they are innocent. Innocent until proven guilty is important. Please do not forget that."

"Start with… what we know?" Pal thinks this over. "But… what do we know?"

"We know that Takumi died," Joshua offers, though even he sounds like he thinks it's a joke.

Kaixi, however, takes it seriously and snaps his fingers. "Oh! We also know that he died in the dining hall."

"We don't necessarily need to talk about Takumi's death either," Samia supplies. "We know who discovered Takumi's body first, and we have a general timeframe for when that discovery happened. Things along those lines are also helpful."

Shizu decides to take charge. "In that case, let's start with what first happened this morning. If we talk about it enough, we may come to some revelations. At the very least, we'll catch up anyone who isn't aware of something obvious."

"Hi, it's me, the person who isn't aware of something obvious." Joshua waves awkwardly.

"Alright, enough talking about what we're going to talk about, let's actually starting talking about it!" Soraru yells.

As the others nod in agreement, Shizu decides to listen in for now. As much as she would like to immediately jump in and lead everything, it may be prudent to try and see where people have misconceptions before barreling past them. With that in mind, she listens into the discussion.

* * *

 **Nonstop Debate Start**

 **Tsubame:** We're starting with what we found this morning, yes?

 **Hachi:** W-well, we were the first ones to find his body…

 **Joshua:** Uh…We? That's kinda vague.

 **Michio:** She means me, herself, and Sawako. The three of us were the first ones on the scene.

 **Sawako:** It was around the time for the morning meeting, a little after 8:30 if I remember correctly.

 **Pal:** So Takumi was… _**killed some time before then**_ …

 **Chouki:** Someone snuck up behind him and nailed him in the back of the head.

 **Hachi:** It was only a single blow… but it was _**enough to kill him**_. He never even saw who killed him.

 **Pal:** His last meal… was one that he… could not have predicted.

 **Shizu:** _And there's the mistake._

 **Michio's Autopsy of Takumi**

 _ **enough to kill him**_

 **BREAK**

* * *

"You're wrong, Hachi," Shizu shouts over everyone else's voices.

Hachi looks extremely taken aback by being called out so boldly. "H-huh? D-did I say something stupid?"

"Not stupid, just incorrect." She moves onto her explanation before Hachi can dwell too long in her negativity. "You claimed that Takumi was killed by the blow to the back of his head, correct?"

Kazuha looks a little confused. "Huh? Is there something wrong with that? I thought that was his only injury."

Shizu nods. "That is true, but that blow is not what killed him."

"You have some kind of proof to back this up, right?" Fumika crosses her arms and looks unimpressed. "That's a pretty bold claim you've got there, so I hope you're not expecting us to follow you along blindly like a pack of sheep."

"Don't take my word for it. Ask Michio. He's the one who did the autopsy." She gestures over to the coroner, giving him the floor.

Nodding firmly, Michio confirms this. "Shizu is correct. According to my investigation, Takumi was not killed by being struck by a blunt object. I'm not saying that he wasn't severely injured by that hit, but it isn't what caused him to die. That was something else."

Everyone stares at him for a few seconds, waiting for him to continue. "Uh… you uh… you doing alright there?" Joshua asks.

"Hmm?" Michio turns to face him, a confused look on his face. "I know what I said was probably shocking, but I assure you that my autopsy was correct."

"Yeah, that's not really the issue," Kogi deadpans.

Michio glares back. "Well, then what is? I'm a coroner, not a mind reader."

Snapping her fingers, Morgan draws all of the attention in the room towards her. In a powerful voice, she answers, "Your information is lacking. You claim to be the Ultimate Coroner, yet you have not given us the true cause of death. If the blow to the back of Takumi's head was not the fatal injury, please take this time to enlighten us."

"Yeah!" Soraru pokes Michio in his chest several times. "Quit hiding things. What kind of person would hide anything at a time like this? A real jerkface, that's who!"

"Hey, hold on a second!" Michio leans away from xem and slaps xer hand away when xe continues to attempt to bother him. "I'm not hiding anything. I told you everything that I know."

"So…" Pal muses, "You are unaware… of what actually killed poor Takumi. Is this the thing… which you are attempting… to get across?"

"If I knew what the cause of death was, don't you think I would have lead with that?" He shoves his hands into his trench coat pockets. "Come on guys, did you really think I would forget something so important?"

Chouki scoffs. "Well, it's not that far-fetched. I'd say that the cause of death is one of the single most important things for us to know, and you somehow forgot to even check what it was."

"Hey, I'm sure he was trying his best." Kaixi leaps at the chance to defend Michio. "Maybe it was just really hard for him to figure out?"

"Too hard for the Ultimate Coroner?" Chouki retorts.

"Too hard for the Ultimate Coroner until a strict time limit and without the proper tools for half of said time limit," Shizu elaborates. "Michio did as much as he could with the resources he had at his disposal. We can't expect him or anyone else here to do the impossible. Being an Ultimate is not the same as being a superhero."

This shuts Chouki up, and he looks down at the ground and pouts. It appears as though he has some kind of rebuttal, but it must not be a very good one since his mouth is clamped shut.

"W-well, that's nice and all, and I really respect Michio's work, but this kind of leaves us in a huge bind," Kazuha worries.

Sawako bites her lip in frustration. "If we do not know the cause of death, we will again be at an impasse. And if the Ultimate Coroner could not figure it out…"

"I-it's impossible?!" Hachi gasps.

Tsubame quickly jumps in. "No, no, let's not think about it like that. We all did our in investigations. With all of us combined, I'm sure that we can figure out what killed Takumi. We already have a huge hint in that it wasn't because of his injury."

"Tsubame is correct," Morgan asserts. "There are many ways to arrive at the same information. Asking the spirits, performing an autopsy, discussing with our friends… are these not all different paths that all lead to the same road?"

"…Let's just start talking about what the cause of death could have been." While Shizu is thankful for someone moving things forward, she could do without the theatrics.

"Hold on one second." Kogi holds out his hand to signal everyone to stop and look at him. Once he has their attention, he continues his thoughts. "Why exactly are we trusting what Michio said?"

"Because he did the autopsy?" Hachi tilts her head in confusion. "I mean, we can't really trust anyone else who didn't do the autopsy…"

"Do you think he made a mistake?" Kaixi asks.

Leaning on his podium with one hand, Kogi rolls his eyes. "What a pain… You're missing the point entirely. How do we know that Michio is telling the truth?"

"Excuse me?!" Michio looks both horrified and intensely offended by the accusation.

Kaixi hurries to back him up. "What? Why would he lie?"

Fumika drums her fingers impatiently. "Because he might be the culprit."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't try to pin this on me!" Michio shouts. "Just because I found something strange while doing the autopsy, that means that I'm suddenly the killer? You've gotta be kidding me!"

"But it is true… Your autopsy was a little strange. I don't want to be rude, but it's only natural that some amount of doubt would be placed on you." Tsubame doesn't look at all comfortable saying this, as she's trembling even as she speaks.

Gritting her teeth, Sawako mutters, "Did we not just agree to hold off on accusations?"

Samia shakes her head. "This is a different case. The entire foundation for the crime rests on how Takumi died. If we can't be sure of what really killed him, then we're in trouble. And, right now, we've got someone who's acting pretty suspiciously."

"Because you're all accusing me." As Michio raises his hands in the air in exasperation, he seems more annoyed than frightened. "Seriously, haven't any of you seen an innocent person get accused before? You can't convict someone just because they seem suspicious, because seeming suspicious is completely subjective."

"Then prove your innocence. If you're really not the killer, then I'm sure you can find some kind of argument to convince us." Kogi crosses his arms.

"I swear it's like no one's ever heard of the burden of proof…" Michio mumbles.

Well then, things got out of control pretty much immediately. This issue was probably inevitable, but Shizu wishes it hadn't come up so soon. There's very little chance that Michio actually did it, considering what he's told everyone. However, coming up with physical proof may be tricky. She's going to have to think outside the box for this one.

* * *

 **Nonstop Debate Start**

 **Kogi:** Michio's story is clearly suspicious. How do we know he isn't lying?

 **Michio:** Come on. If I was really the culprit, why would I have told such a suspicious lie?

 **Kazuha:** Yeah? Wouldn't he have said _**something more believable**_?

 **Michio:** Exactly! I'd think I could come up with a better cover story than literally nothing!

 **Soraru:** Well, maybe you're just _**incredibly stupid**_!

 **Pal:** …Please do not say… such harsh things.

 **Fumika:** Michio's our only source for the autopsy. We'd be fools to blindly trust him.

 **Kogi:** As long as he _**can't prove that he couldn't have done it**_ , we can't trust a word he's saying.

 **Hachi:** This kind of feels like bullying…

 **Shizu:** _I think I have an argument here… Just have to hope that it's actually valid._

 **Body Discovery (Takumi)**

 _ **can't prove that he couldn't have done it**_

 **BREAK**

* * *

Shizu cuts into their discussion. "You're being too hasty there, Kogi."

He rolls his eyes. "That's a nice accusation, but I'd prefer the actual proof if you wouldn't mind."

"Of course. Do you remember who found Takumi's body first?" She proposes this question to everyone rather than just Michio's main accuser.

"It was Sawako, Hachi, and Michio," Morgan provides. "May I please ask where you are going with this? I can tell that Michio being among the first to find his body is important to you, but I fail to see how."

"Don't tell me you think he's innocent just because he was the first one there," Chouki accuses.

Pal mulls this over. "That might put a bit more… suspicion on him… simply by being there first. But still… I do not think that… this is a strong enough… explanation… especially not for someone… so well versed in crime scenes."

"At least in crime dramas, people who discover the body first are among the most suspicious. I don't think many people in this situation would deliberately place themselves at the scene of the crime," Michio states. "But this is real life, and, as much as I'd love to prove myself innocent, I don't think that's quite going to cut. Thank you though, Shizu."

Shizu adjusts her glasses. "You've all misunderstood my point."

"Huh? There's more?" Hachi puffs out her cheeks as she thinks. "Hmm…"

Blinking several times in quick succession, Joshua asks, "You're uh… not bluffing, right?"

"Do I look like a lawyer?" she retorts.

"Not really, but, if you swapped out your blazer for a leather jacket, you'd kinda look like someone who plays poker," Soraru offers.

Sawako slams her fist onto her podium. "We're getting off track. Shizu, if you have evidence, please present it at this time."

"Of course." Shizu looks over her notepad one last time, just to make sure she's not about to say something really stupid. If she's right, there should be something in here that shows why Michio discovering Takumi's body presents an issue.

* * *

 **Rules**

* * *

"If you all remember from earlier today, we got a few new rules. Specifically, I'm interested in Rule 7." She holds up her notes to her face in order to show that she's reading off of them. "A body discovery announcement plays once three people discover a body for the first time, which signals the start of a trial."

Samia raises an eyebrow. "Yes, we already established that they discovered the body. Is there something more to this?"

"Think about the wording of the rule," she explains. "If I transcribed the rule accurately enough, it means that, in order for the body discovery announcement to play, people need to discover the body. However, if Michio really was the killer, he wouldn't have discovered anything. He would have already known that the body was there in the first place."

"That's… kind of a strange argument…" Kazuha plays with the brim of her cap uneasily.

Joshua coughs awkwardly. "Yeah, that's more technical than an actual problem. Are you seriously debating words and sentence structure right now?"

"If you all don't believe me, then why not ask Monokuma? He's the one who established the rule. I don't think that it would be unfair to ask for a bit more clarification." Having said this, Shizu fixes her gaze at the bear sitting high above them. "Well, I trust you've been paying attention. That's what a good judge would do, after all."

He merely grins at her before sitting up a little straighter. "Of course I am. How can I be an impartial judge if I'm not paying attention to what everyone's saying? Do you really think so little of me?" When he sees that she's not going to answer, he laughs. "Well, to answer your question, the body discovery announcement wasn't meant to be used as evidence. It's a way to alert everyone that a class trial is about to start. If the culprit hides the body and then pretends to discover it later, I'm not about to give them away that easily."

"So, there's nothing that we can derive from it?" Shizu asks, not daring to show her disappointment.

"Well, normally, I'd say no. However, it's very like the Ultimate Strategist to try and turn anything into her advantage." Then, Monokuma shrugs. "But you sounded so sure of yourself, and I'd hate to disappoint you after you thought you made a breakthrough. Just this once, I'll give you a little help for thinking outside of the box."

As Pal sways slightly in place, he asks, "So, you are saying… that Michio is innocent?"

"That's right!" Monokuma confirms. "In this particular case, none of the people who discovered the body are responsible for the crime. So cross those chumps off your suspect list."

"You're giving that away this easily?"Fumika sounds really suspicious of this supposed boon. Shizu can't blame her either. That's almost a fifth of the suspects down with almost no effort.

Kicking his feet back onto the desk and leaning back in his chair, Monokuma responds, "Oh, did you want more mysteries? In that case, blame the strategist over there for spoiling everything. It's not my fault she's so persuasive."

"Let's just move on before he changes his mind," Kaixi says nervously, tugging on his backpack straps.

Sawako gives him a look. "I don't think that he can do that at this point. The information is already out in the open…"

Shizu decides to bring everyone back to the topic at hand. Clearing her throat, she states, "So, I hope that is proof enough for all of you. We should be able to trust Michio's results now that we've shown that he's innocent."

Kogi nods. "Fine by me."

Joshua looks a little taken aback. "Wait, you're giving up that easily?"

"I thought Michio was suspicious, but he's not the culprit. What more do you want from me?" he responds dully.

"Uh… I guess that's fine." Joshua scratches the back of his neck and a few drops of water flick on in the process. "I just was kinda expecting a bit more of a fight? Maybe? I mean, you were the one going all ham on the accusations and stuff."

Michio looks taken aback. "Dude, I just got declared innocent by the one person who knows exactly what's going on at all times. What more do you want from me?"

"There is little point to pursuing a fruitless path," Morgan claims. "For now, we know that Michio is not the one we are seeking, as well as Sawako and Hachi. Instead, we should focus our efforts elsewhere. Perhaps it would be wise to find out the true cause of death."

Soraru scratches xer head with both of xer hands and looks annoyed. "You say that like it's super simple, but death man couldn't even figure it out, and he's got super death knowledge."

"Takumi didn't have any other external wounds either. Whatever killed him must not have left any other marks." Michio elaborates.

Fumika takes the chance to propose a different line of thinking. "Then, let's think about what Takumi was doing at the time of his death. Due to the setup, it's likely that he was eating at the time. That may have caused him to get distracted, even if he was incredibly paranoid of everything."

Kazuha's eyes widen. "Oh! Maybe it was something he was eating. Maybe that's what killed him!"

"There is an infirmary here," Tsubame continues. "Perhaps they found something there that could do the job."

Looking down at the center of the podium circle darkly, Samia speaks up. "There was some poison stored in there. And someone definitely moved it around, so there's a definite possibility that it was used."

"Poison?!" Hachi shrieks.

"That might very well be the case… If it fits that well, then that has to be it," Kaixi claims as he snaps his fingers.

Shizu's not too sure about that. Poison would be a good way to not leave a bunch of evidence, but something about that feels like it's wrong. Maybe she'll get a better feel for things once she hears some of the discussion.

* * *

 **Nonstop Debate Start**

 **Michio:** Like I've already said, we know that Takumi _**wasn't killed by the blow to the back of his head**_. So it has to be something else.

 **Sawako:** He had no other external injuries, correct? Then, it's impossible that _**another physical injury**_ killed him.

 **Tsubame:** Then, the murder method is something that can't be seen?

 **Samia:** There's poison in the infirmary. It's possible that that's what did him in.

 **Hachi:** Huh? Is that a new addition? I didn't see any when I looked…

 **Samia:** I thought it was dangerous, so _**I hid it**_ so that nobody would find it.

 **Chouki:** Well, you should have hid it better.

 **Morgan:** With that poison, it is incredibly likely that he consumed it while he was eating breakfast. There would have been little warning.

 **Joshua:** Poison _**wouldn't have left any evidence**_ either, so that sounds about right.

 **Kaixi:** Poison, huh? What a brutal way to go… He probably didn't even realize until it was too late…

 **Michio:** Dying's rarely pleasant, even when it isn't bloody.

 **Shizu:** _Hold on a second… I think I've found something that doesn't add up. Just need to check things over again to make sure._

 **Poison Details**

 _ **wouldn't have left any evidence**_

 **BREAK**

* * *

"You're wrong, Joshua. Just because poison doesn't leave any bruises or cuts doesn't mean that it doesn't leave any kind of scars whatsoever." Shizu fixes him with a dull glare.

He holds up his hands. "Whoa, what are you talking about? It's poison. What, is it cutting you up on the inside or something? Is it like a bunch of tiny knives that you've ingested?"

"In a sense." At the look on everyone's faces, she decides to just move on with her explanation. "The warning bottle on the poison mentions that anyone who ingests it will be left with a lot of blood clots on their body. I would hardly call that no evidence."

"Hmm?" Sawako looks puzzled. "But, when I looked at Takumi's body, I didn't see anything on his boy. They would have appeared all over, but everywhere that I could see was completely bare, even his face."

"Big deal." Waving off the issue like it's nothing, Soraru says, "The culprit could have just washed off the bloody spots once they saw them. No big deal."

Giving a condescending look and pinching one of his temples, Michio says, "You really don't know how blood clots work, do you?"

Xe winks. "I'll have you know that I'm an extreme blood clot expert. The only reason I'm not the Ultimate Blood Clot Expert is because my baking's also pretty good."

He rolls his eyes. "Right. Okay then. In that case, I'm sure that you're aware that blood clots are caused by blood vessels bursting and the blood leaking out everywhere. However, it's not like your skin is what's actually being cut, so there's no place for it to escape. The blood just boils up underneath, leaving these sickly looking spots all over your body. That's what the poison would be doing. There's no way to just wipe those away since there isn't anything on the outer layer of skin." He leans backwards as he finishes speaking and examines the back of his hand casually. "But I'm sure you already knew all of that, so sorry for boring you."

Soraru simply smiles at this, no looking perturbed in the least. "It's no trouble. I enjoy hearing about things I already know. Now, everyone knows how dumb it would be if someone thought that the culprit could hide the evidence of poison."

"But didn't you just-" Kaixi begins.

Joshua holds up his hand. "Nah, it's not worth it man. Just let it go."

"Nah, you shouldn't hold anything back anymore." Soraru holds up a fist triumphantly. "If we don't talk about everything, then we'll definitely forget something."

"Like you already have… or are at least… pretending to," Pal says quietly. "But enough… about that. If this is true… then there is no way that… Takumi was poisoned."

Shizu nods firmly. "I'm fairly certain that we can safely assume that he wasn't killed by eating anything."

"Your voice is in discord!"

She swears she hears her train of thought physical shatter as Morgan's voice throws her off guard. She moves to fix her glasses as she glares back at the fortune teller. "Excuse me? Did you want to say something, or did you just want to yell at me?"

Morgan giggles. "Oh Shizu… You're still being very hasty, you know. I have not even begun my argument, and you're already trying to doubt me. It would suit you well to take a few moments to calm yourself down."

"It would suit you well to explain yourself before I start ignoring you for wasting my time," she growls.

"Oh my." Holding a hand up to her mouth, Morgan feigns a gasp. "In that case, I should get on with it." She raises a finger in the air, her rings sparkling and her bracelets swaying as her arm moves. "You claim that Takumi did not die because of something that he ate. However, the spirits take issue with that statement, and I cannot ignore their voices."

Shizu accepts her challenge. "Then, I'll show you how wrong your "spirits" are." It's not like she's claiming this in a void. She's put a lot of thought into all of her arguments, so this shouldn't be too hard to overthrow. Still, it's definitely disruptive. How annoying.

* * *

 **Rebuttal Showdown Start**

 **Morgan:** I'll admit that it's impossible for poison to have killed Takumi.

 **Morgan:** The fact that his boy is completely clear of blood clots shows this to be true.

 **Morgan:** However, it is hasty to declare the food as completely safe.

 **Morgan:** He died face down next to his bowl of cereal.

 **Morgan:** Is it not reasonable to assume that there could still be foul play involved?

 **Morgan:** Or are you assuming that the poison in the infirmary is the only way to kill someone?

 **Advance**

 **Shizu:** That isn't it at all!

 **Shizu:** There may be other ways to kill people with food other than strictly using poison.

 **Shizu:** However, you haven't exactly been forthcoming with any alternative poisons that could have been used.

 **Shizu:** In the end, I highly doubt that the food itself is to blame.

 **Morgan:** Hold on. You are moving much too quickly for the strength of your reasoning.

 **Morgan:** I hope your imagination isn't quite so lacking that you can't imagine any other ways to kill someone.

 **Morgan:** Have you truly never heard of an overdose before?

 **Morgan:** I'm sure the infirmary has plenty of medicines that are unsafe in large doses.

 **Morgan:** The cleaning supplies in the pantry could also play a role in his death.

 **Morgan:** All the culprit would have had to do is _**poison his breakfast**_ sometime prior to his death.

 **Morgan:** In that case, it need not be Takumi explicitly.

 **Morgan:** Anyone could have been targeted, and he merely drew an unlucky lot.

 **Shizu:** _In theory, this all makes sense, but I think I see the flaw in her reasoning. All that I have to do is think back to a few days ago, and the truth should become apparent._

 **Character Profiles (Takumi)**

 _ **poison his breakfast**_

 **BREAK**

* * *

Smirking, Shizu pushes up her glasses. "I wouldn't claim that I'm rushing through things when your own argument has a gaping hole in it."

Morgan doesn't rise to her taunt, choosing instead to keep her calm smile steady. "I suppose that could be true, but I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you're saying. What part exactly sounded strange to you? Was it about how they weren't going for Takumi directly?"

She shakes her head. "I found that to be wrong as well, but there's a more pressing issue at hand. All they would have to do to kill Takumi is poison his breakfast. That's what you were claiming, correct?"

"Yes, that is, in essence, my way of thinking," Morgan confirms.

"Well then," she takes a deep breath before continuing her verbal train of thought. "I'm afraid that you don't know Takumi very well at all. If you think that anyone would be able to poison someone as paranoid as him, then I'm afraid that you're very mistaken."

"Hold on a second there." Michio is the first person to get in the middle of their argument. Now that Shizu is looking around, everyone else seems a bit nervous, or perhaps a little wary, of what just went down. That's what she gets for getting all fired up. "Yeah, I know that Takumi was paranoid, but he still needs to eat. Are you trying to say that he died of starvation and then someone just happened to come along and set up the crime scene randomly?"

"No, that's not it at all." She elaborates a little more. "What I'm saying is that there's something very suspicious about the crime scene that I'm only just now noticing after considering things for a while. Given Takumi's character, there's something that doesn't make sense."

* * *

 **Takumi's Cereal**

* * *

"Think again about what he was eating," she says, hoping that someone else actually picks up on what she's thinking about.

Hachi clicks her tongue. "Uh… I'm pretty sure he had cereal with milk… I wasn't really paying too much attention though." She stares down at the floor meekly and presses her index fingers together.

"H-hey, it's alright Hachi!" Kaixi interjects. "We were all a little distracted, y'know?"

"Is there something weird about cereal with milk or something?" Joshua looks confused. "Was he lactose intolerant maybe?"

Chouki mumbles quietly, "He could have been a vegan."

Alas, it appears she may be alone on at this juncture. "The choice of food is not the issue. Well, not entirely. If you all think back, the box of cereal that we assumed that he used was sitting out on the table."

"The fatal box!" Soraru shouts suddenly. "It was right in front of us all along!"

Shizu spins her pen around her fingers. "Not so, because Takumi never used that box at all."

"What? How can you be so certain of that?" Fumika asks as she narrows her eyes.

"Like I mentioned previously, Takumi was incredibly paranoid, especially when it concerned food. He ate at irregular hours, and the actual choices in his diet were very strange indeed. He refused to eat anything that had already been opened precisely because it could have been poisoned. Whenever he chose to get something to eat, he got a completely new box or item. If someone else had eaten from it previously, he wouldn't use it."

"That is… a little over the top," Pal muses thoughtfully. "He would truly waste… all of that food… in an effort to keep himself safe?"

Kaixi's eyes widen. "Oh, wait a second! I could have sworn that the box on the table was already half-empty. Does that mean that is was opened already?"

"That was my guess as well," Shizu agrees. "Whatever your feelings are about Takumi's strange habits, it seems bizarre that he would not stick to them in his most paranoid moments. It's likely that someone else placed that box there after killing him. He never even touched any of that food."

Soraru says, "Well, unless he was super hungry and ate half of the box in one sitting. Just inhaling cereal like a starved vacuum cleaner! …Nah, now that I think about it, there's no way that Takumi was cool enough to do something like that."

"What does that mean though? If he didn't eat, why was he getting ready to eat?" Kazuha leans on her podium and scratches her head. "Are you sure that this is right?"

"Nope, not at all."

Once more, Kogi has chosen to say something incredibly controversial. Well, incredibly controversial to Shizu, at least. She looks slightly to the side of him. "You take issue with my statement." It's not a question.

He shrugs. "It's an interesting theory, but there's a problem, and it's the same problem I brought up previously. How do we know that you're telling the truth? Has anyone seen Takumi opening up a new box of cereal every single day?"

Sawako looks troubled. "I believe that Shizu mentioned this to me a few days ago, but I did not witness it myself. At that time, I was in the freezer getting my own breakfast. I do not know if there was anyone else awake early enough to catch Takumi preparing his breakfast."

"That's about what I expected." Kogi clicks his tongue and falls silent.

There are a few murmurs of unease spreading throughout the trial grounds. Shizu feels a bead of sweat start to form and make its way down her neck. This isn't good at all. She'd better deal with this before things get out of hand. "You are formally accusing me."

"Yep." He pops the "p" at the end of his sentence.

Kaixi's teeth are chattering. "W-we're back to suspecting people already? I really d-don't like this."

"Yeah!" Hachi chimes in. "Shizu's been nothing but helpful this entire time. I'm totally sure that she's not lying this time. O-or any other time today!"

"However, she's kind of been leading us around for this entire trial," Fumika points out. "Every time we start to come to a conclusion, she jumps in and pulls the rug out from under our feet. It's almost like she's directing us."

Michio argues in favor of her. "Come on everyone. She was the main person who proved three of us innocent. Plus, she argued in favor of my autopsy when everyone else doubted it. If she was really the killer, why would she do all of that?"

"Maybe it's part of her strategy. Make us all trust her and then pull her final trick." Chouki pouts as he finishes speaking.

Pal fixes his gaze upon his friend once more. "Chouki… you are making her out to be… a predator… rather than a guiding hand."

"She is the Ultimate Strategist." The words roll off of Samia's tongue like they're something disgusting, but she continues too quickly for Shizu to process this fully. "While she's not someone who can pull impossible gambits, I can definitely see her coming up with a really complex plan to fool all of us."

"The spirits think that she is someone to watch out for." Now, Morgan has apparently decided to join in on the Shizu suspicion train, though this statement is puzzling when she then chooses to say, "However, this seems like an odd point for her to trip. Surely, she would have thought twice about saying an unverifiable statement before committing to her plan. I find this an odd point to suspect her."

At this point, Kaixi's agreement is to be expected. "Y-yeah! Shizu's really smart. She wouldn't lose to something so obvious!"

"…I appreciate the thought, but please word your defenses better," Shizu groans.

"Eh heh… Sorry?" He pulls on his cap in an embarrassed manner.

Kogi shakes his head solemnly. "That's not right. This isn't the first time she's tried to get us to believe something really strange. Literally the first thing she did was make us question the cause of death."

"Huh? I'm a little lost… What did Shizu have to do with that?" Kazuha inquires cautiously.

"Yeah!" Michio adds. "I was the one who did the autopsy, not her. And we've already shown that I can't be the killer. Just because she was the person who brought it up first doesn't mean that she was the one responsible for the autopsy. Hell, I think I'm the only person here who could do it competently! …Well, maybe Samia could, but it's literally my talent. Don't go throwing the blame onto Shizu for this one."

After considering these words for a few moments, Kogi then states, very slowly. "Tell me… Who was the person who got you the coroner's kit in the first place?"

There's a brief moment of silence. Then, Michio looks at her with a guilty expression and says plainly, "…Shizu was."

Kazuha instantly flinches backwards. "W-wait! Are you saying that she could have tampered with the kit before she brought it over?"

"That's not possible!" Sawako shouts. "She barely had any time between talking with Michio and bringing it to him. When would she have had the chance to mess with things?"

"Plus, she handed it off to me during that period," says Kaixi hurriedly. "That gives her even less time."

There's a sinking feeling in her stomach when Samia raises her voice. "Not if she planned this in advance."

Tsubame frantically tugs on her braid. "Could you please explain that in more detail?"

"When Shizu first got to the infirmary, she asked me to do something strange." Samia closes her eyes and recounts her memories to everyone. "She told me not to tell anyone that there were coroner's kits in there. In addition, she said that both of us should hold onto kits of our own in case someone was to tamper with them. But, during the investigation, she was the one who picked out the kit. If she was the culprit, she could have changed things in advance to coincide with her plan."

"This is completely ridiculous." Shizu clenches her fist in frustration. "This plan you're cooking up has far too many moving parts. The best strategies are the ones that have the least variables. Yet, somehow, I've somehow managed to get everything working without fail, including fooling the coroner about the cause of death, until this exact moment."

Soraru whistles. "Man, that _is_ impressive. Nice going there, Shizu! You almost had us."

"Shut up," she hisses.

"Eeep!" Xe ducks down and hides underneath xer hands. "Help! Help! She's trying to silence me!"

"We should let… everyone discuss equally…" Pal lectures her sternly.

She facepalms. "Now's not the time for non-sequiturs, Pal."

"You're right. Now is the time for you to explain yourself." Samia crosses her arms. "You told me yourself that you don't have anyone to verify your alibi. Do you have any other ways to pull yourself out of trouble?"

Fumika taps her foot and sighs. "Yeah, that's actually something else I found kind of suspicious as well. She's been a little too cooperative with Monokuma recently."

Looking a little torn, Kazuha eventually mumbles. "…Oh… That's right. She got him to add a new rule, and she made him clarify some stuff that we weren't sure about… But still…"

"But nothing," Chouki spits. "She could have been pestering him about the rules behind all of our backs for a while now. She could have totally been privy to the fact that a trial was coming up!"

"That's just baseless speculation!" she shoots back, but the damage has been done. The mutterings around the room are getting stronger. Damn it.

"That would make a little bit of sense…" Tsubame whispers, her face incredibly pale. "I did find something a little off when we were talking about the body discovery announcement…"

"That's right. Shizu always wakes up first." The guilt is creeping into Sawako's eyes, and she can't seem to force herself to look directly at Shizu. "Yet, she was nowhere to be found this morning until after the body discovery announcement played."

"She could have gone down there at the usual time, committed the crime, and then cleaned up all of the evidence that she was there, huh?" Joshua flashes a nervous grin in her direction.

"Hmm… How unfortunate." If Morgan is attempting to placate her, she's doing a really terrible job. "It appears that everything is unraveling at the seams. How will you untangle yourself from this mess?"

"S-Shizu… You have some kind of explanation, right?" The pleading look on Kaixi's face does little to make her feel better.

Shizu forces herself to glare down at her podium, not daring to meet anyone's eyes directly. Now isn't the time to think about what could go wrong. She needs to focus and find some point to attack before they all choose to vote for her. Her silence definitely isn't helping her case. There's no pleading the fifth in this courtroom. Still, she has no other options. As she waits for them to continue, she feels the combined gaze of the room slowly begin to melt her.

* * *

 **Nonstop Debate Start**

 **Hachi:** There's no way that Shizu is the culprit!

 **Kogi:** That's funny, because she's been _**leading us around**_ this entire time. All of our previous discussions were tainted by her influence.

 **Pal:** It feels unfair but… she did shoot down… a lot of things… that appeared to be obvious.

 **Samia:** It's not just that she's been saying some suspicious things. Her _**alibi's shaky as well**_.

 **Fumika:** Not to mention that she _**should have been the one to discover the body**_ , but she was nowhere to be found.

 **Soraru:** Ooh! I bet she snuck down there really early to set up the scene! Like a viper waiting the strike.

 **Samia:** She had the chance to set up everything and then _**leave without a trace**_.

 **Sawako:** Shizu even had the chance to _**conspire with Monokuma**_ to learn about the trial and everything else before the rest of us had the opportunity to.

 **Kazuha:** All of this requires a lot of planning, but _**she is the Ultimate Strategist**_ … If anyone could pull something like this off, it would be her… Ugh…

 **Joshua:** She had the time, the skill, and the opportunity to plan all of this out, huh? Talk about the ultimate crime…

 **Hachi:** Come on, Shizu! Why are you being so quiet? Say something!

 **Michio:** She might not have a lot of room to argue…

 **Shizu:** _There are so many holes in this line of reasoning that I don't know where to begin. But, like a conspiracy theory, each part is supported by several other equally unsupported parts. If I want to survive, I'm going to have to destroy the most concrete weak point._

 **Cake Traps**

 _ **leave without a trace**_

 **BREAK**

* * *

At long last, Shizu looks up and opens her eyes. "…If I truly was the culprit, then I would have made a very big mistake in the preparation of my crime. Specifically, I would have left a very huge piece of evidence that I was there."

Chouki crosses his arms. "There wasn't that much at the crime scene besides Takumi's body. Is that what you're talking about?"

Soraru makes a choking sound and pales considerably. "No way… You… you were gonna try and dispose of the body?!"

"No!" Shizu shouts as she feels a vein popping in her forehead. "I'm not talking about the crime scene specifically. I meant in general. Remember? In the elevator lobby?"

Eyes widening, Tsubame says, "The cakes…"

"That is correct…" Pal agrees, equally surprised. "The cake leaves… irrefutable proof… that you came down… through the elevator."

"Oh yeah! If she wanted to hide the fact that she had been there, she'd have cleaned up the cakey mess! That's, like, super proof that she'd been there before." Hachi looks incredibly relieved to see that Shizu's argument holds water.

Shizu goes a bit further than that even. "In addition to this, some of you should have found a few spare cake crumbs in the elevator and on the fourth floor."

"Oh, was that what that was? Yeah, I remember that." Michio gives her a thumbs-up. "So, that was you, huh?"

She ignores Soraru's snicker in the background. "That's right. However, do any of you remember seeing a similar trail on the second floor leading to the dining hall?" When no one speaks up, she continues. "Of course you don't. That means that, if I really were the culprit, I would have taken the time to clean up the part of the mess while leaving the rest of it for no good reason. Why would I have done that?"

"Maybe your original plan was to say that Takumi got hit by the cake," Chouki assets. "It's not like he's alive to contradict you or something."

"That's not possible." Surprisingly, it's Kogi that's coming to her defense. "I stated a pretty in-depth theory about Takumi being the one to trigger the trap, but she quickly shot it down. She would have just gone with that if she wanted to hide her involvement."

"Yeah, this is really unlikely. I knew she couldn't have done it!" Kaixi cheers.

Fumika looks a little embarrassed. "Truth be told, this is a lot of ifs to swallow… We're technically not sure about any of this. This last issue only further compounds things. I apologize, Shizu."

"It's fine." Despite her claims, Shizu is actually quite relieved to see the tides turning so quickly. "As long as we're all clear that I'm not the culprit, then any clarification is fine."

"Stop spreading your lies!"

Once more, Shizu reels back as Samia decides that now is the perfect time to bring up some issues. Shizu groans and pinches her forehead. "Oh, what now?"

"Really? Is that all you have to say?" Samia looks at her incredulously. "I'm about to bring up another issue, and you're already dismissing me? That's not a good look for you."

Clenching her fist, she asserts, "There is literally no chance that I'm the culprit. Like Fumika just said, the entire foundation for this line of reasoning is flawed. Even if you bring up some kind of circumstantial issue, the base is already shaking and crumbling. We're wasting our time with this."

Samia is gaping openly at her. When she finally regains the ability to speak, she does not sound happy. "That's not for you to decide. Trying to dismiss my concerns before you even hear them… I literally cannot believe that you of all people are the one suggesting that. You want to get this over with? Fine, then listen closely so you don't get lost in your own arrogance."

Shizu grits her teeth. She's not about to fall before some sort of petty argument like this. It's definitely unhealthy to be getting this worked up, but she feels like she's deserved it at this point. She shouldn't tell Samia that, though. Better just get this mess out of the way quickly.

* * *

 **Rebuttal Showdown Start**

 **Samia:** Your defense lies on the fact that you tripped the cake traps.

 **Samia:** I'll admit that cleaning up after yourself would have taken a lot of time.

 **Samia:** But that's a huge if!

 **Samia:** What if you didn't have to clean up any of the mess near the dining hall at all?

 **Samia:** It's possible that you never triggered the trap at all after you exited the elevator.

 **Samia:** If the mess never got there, then the conflict disappears.

 **Advance**

 **Shizu:** Are you seriously telling me that I didn't actually trigger the trap?

 **Shizu:** There's already proof that I did.

 **Shizu:** The mess that was left behind should be more than enough.

 **Shizu:** What are you actually getting at?

 **Samia:** I know that you triggered the trap at some point, I'm not denying that.

 **Samia:** But there's no proof that to say when you set it off.

 **Samia:** The wire may be transparent, but you're the type of person who notices little details.

 **Samia:** I think that you noticed it as you were exiting the elevator to kill Takumi, and then you decided to incorporate it into your plan.

 **Samia:** You deliberately set it off after you killed him!

 **Advance**

 **Shizu:** Why on would I ever do something like that?

 **Shizu:** That would place me near the scene of the crime for certain.

 **Shizu:** Not to mention, I would also be forced to change my clothes afterwards.

 **Shizu:** It's not worth the risk!

 **Samia:** But it kills two birds with one stone.

 **Samia:** Takumi's body was very bloody, and it's likely that the culprit got some blood on them while attacking him.

 **Samia:** They'd definitely have to change out of their clothes if that was the case.

 **Samia:** By _**intentionally getting hit by the cake**_ , they'd give themselves a reason to wash off the bloodstains.

 **Samia:** You _**washed your clothes**_ in order to hide your crime!

 **Shizu:** _Finally, an opening… This should end this speculation once and for all!_

 **Sheets in the Washing Machines**

 _ **washed your clothes**_

 **BREAK**

* * *

Adjusting her glasses decisively, Shizu smirks. "I suppose I should applaud you on having a somewhat in-depth argument in play there, but you shouldn't claim anything when there's an obvious piece of evidence that contradicts your whole argument."

Apparently, this was the exact wrong thing to say because Samia looks even more frustrated. "You… Just tell me what the evidence is, and leave the patronizing stuff behind… I swear, arguments bring out the worst side of you."

"It's true I might have been able to force a reason to wash my clothes. I very well couldn't do so without warning if I was the culprit, as several people already know that I just did laundry a few days ago. However, the washing machines were already in use this morning." Shizu shakes her head. "It's impossible that I could have washed any of my stuff while that was happening."

"Well, you know that now, but you might not have known that at the time," Fumika points out. "You could have gone through with the plan only to come to that roadblock later."

Surprisingly, Morgan comes to her defense. "However, that is not what happened at all. I was in the laundry room before Shizu had the opportunity to wash her clothes. I made sure to examine them, but there was no evidence of any bloodstains on them. They were only coated in the remnants of cake."

"Maybe the cake was a red herring, and she used whatever was in the washing machines to block the blood splatter," Chouki accuses.

Shizu stares in disbelief. "You're telling me that I brought a bunch of sheets down from the fourth floor in order to commit my crime before I was even aware that the trap was going to be there, managed to avoid it on my first trip, and still decided to set it off afterwards? Are you even listening to yourself?"

Soraru's eyes flash. "You could have been the one to set up the traps in the first place though."

Literally everyone in the room, including Monokuma, turns to look at xem. Even just a cursory glance at everyone's faces shows that there isn't a single person in the room that believes xem. Somehow, throughout all of this, xe keeps a perfectly innocent smile on xer face. "Huh? Huh? What's with the funny looks?"

"You're uh… kind of not fooling anyone," Kazuha says awkwardly.

Pal tell xem, "It is… abundantly clear… that you were the one… behind the setup."

"What? Little old me?" Soraru gasps and leans backwards in mock surprise. "How could you accuse me of such a thing?"

"You're literally been pranking everyone every day now," Michio retorts.

Shrugging, xe puffs out xer cheeks. "Pffft, that's just someone exploiting pattern recognition."

Shizu glares at xem. "Your cakes were essential to the plan. And don't even try to claim they're not yours. I saw you baking them."

"Someone's clearly trying to frame me!" xe declares.

Joshua facepalms. "Dude, I literally brought them to your room last night."

Upon hearing this, xe points at him dramatically. "Aha! The culprit admits his guilt! You can't pull the wool over our eyes!"

"You asked me to bring them to you!" he yells back, though it looks like he's trying to stifle his laughter.

At this point, even Soraru sees that xer words aren't working. Deciding to give up the charade, xe sighs and lessens xer smile. "Aw man… I can't believe you all called me out on it. I thought I was going to get away with it because nobody was bringing it up."

Kaixi pulls his cap down slightly and mumbles, "I think that was just because it was so obvious…"

Shaking her head at all of the nonsense going on, Tsubame tries to bring things to a more helpful place. "Well, while we're on the subject, could you please tell us the entire setup behind this scheme? I know it may not be directly linked to the case at hand, but it might lead to some helpful clues."

"Also, I would appreciate it if you would tell me what you actually did last night." Shizu is already furiously scribbling out sections she wrote for Soraru's alibi.

Xe winks. "Sure thing. If you really wanna know that badly, I guess I gotta explain. Can't disappoint my fans, after all."

"…Fans?" Tilting her head, Sawako looks a little annoyed.

"It took a lot of the night to set all of that up. I didn't wanna be caught by anyone mid-preparation, so I had to get up at, like, 3 AM to do everything. And even then, it took a lot of time to get everything working properly. As it turns out, putting things in high places is tough when you need to drag a ladder back and forth."

"So, you stayed up that late just for a dumb prank?" Michio asks.

"Hey, it's not dumb!" Xe puts on a dignified accent. "I'll have you know that my pranks are only of the highest, most sophisticated quality." Then, xe drops it to say, "There was a lot of thought I had to put into it. Like I needed to make sure the boards actually dropped in the right way to make the cakes fall how I wanted them too. Plus, I needed to actually put them on the metal dishes so that they would actually slide. Good thing Joshua brought those out as well."

"Joshua?" Samia clicks her tongue. "Oh, that's right. He just mentioned that earlier. He's the one who brought the cakes to you, right?"

"Yup!" xe confirms. "He came to my door crying sometime last night, and I felt so bad for him that I sent him on a magical journey to get me the stuff I was too lazy to fetch myself. Gotta keep those cakes in mint condition for as long as possible."

"I wanted to check in on xem, and xe asked me to do a small favor for xem," Joshua clarifies. "I only cried a little bit."

Sawako decides to check something. "So, were you in on the prank as well?"

Soraru shakes xer head rapidly. "No way! I don't spoil any of my pranks. I don't want anything to get leaked out at all. All he would have known is that I wanted some cakes. My methods are discreet and mysterious!"

Joshua does a little fifty-fifty hand motion. "I mean, I didn't know what xe was planning, but I was pretty sure something was going down. Uh, kind of literally too… I was pretty sure xe was going to hit someone with those cakes. I had no idea that where they were setting up shop, though."

"But you were aware that Soraru was going to prank someone," Morgan says.

"Oh, yeah, totally." He scratches the back of his neck nervously. "Truth be told, I uh… kind of decided to maybe extend it a little?"

"Huh? Extend it?" Hachi puffs out her cheeks.

He nods. "Yeah. I kind of thought that someone was going to get hit, but it was pretty late, so it would probably happen in the morning. So, I stayed up really late and, around 6:40 AM or so, I shoved my sheets into the washing machines so that whoever got hit would have to wait to wash their stuff. Just a little minor thing."

"You!" Shizu points at him furiously. "You're the one who did that."

"Oops?" He can't help but smile. It looks incredibly guilty, but that's not all that comforting in the moment.

Soraru bursts out laughing. "Oh man, this is great! I totally wanted to get Takumi with that one, but I'll settle for a Shizu. Too bad my final apology never made it…"

"You set up this entire thing just to get Takumi?" Kazuha looks a little troubled. "I don't really think that would be a suitable apology, though…"

"I generally find that pranking someone is not a good way to apologize for pranking someone," Chouki deadpans.

Xe winks and does finger guns in his direction. "Not with that attitude."

"We've gotten off topic." As angry as this whole situation made her, Shizu thinks that they've gotten all that they could have out of this discussion. She makes a few adjustments to her notes before she forces everyone to move on.

* * *

 _Sheets in the Washing Machines (Updated)_ _\- Joshua put sets of sheets into the washing machine early this morning, around 6:40 AM. I found this out around 8:30 AM when I went to do my own laundry. At this time, they had twenty minutes left in their cycle._

 _Soraru's Account_ _– Soraru set up the cake prank at around 3 AM. Xe was the only person who knew all of the details, such as where it was set up and what was going to happen. Though Joshua got the cakes for xem, he was not actively aware of these finer details, only able to speculate on the nature of the prank._

* * *

"Getting back on track, I hope that it's become painfully clear that, at least going by your current speculations, I am not the culprit." She looks around the room, making sure to meet everyone's eyes directly.

"I was already convinced before Samia said anything," Kogi claims casually. "But you did go the extra mile and disprove that as well. I'm satisfied."

Samia crosses her arms. "You don't need to get cross with me just because I had more issues. But, no, despite your tone, you've convinced me of your innocence so far."

"I never doubted you for a second," Kaixi adds.

"Thank you everyone." She bows her head graciously and lets out a little sigh of relief. Thank goodness that's over with. Now, they can actually move forwards.

"Um… I apologize for this, but I cannot exactly remember what we were talking about before we started suspecting Shizu." Tsubame shuffles around in place awkwardly.

Morgan reestablishes their sticking point. "I believe that we were considering the oddities in Michio's autopsy report. Shizu had just claimed that Takumi would not have died by eating anything because of his paranoia. If she is not the culprit, then I see no reason why she would make this up. This means that the cause of death is still a mystery."

"Aw man, seriously?" Soraru pouts. "We've been talking all of this time, but we've still gotten literally nowhere. That dang autopsy report sure loves messing everything up."

"Uh…" Michio looks like he wants to say something but hesitates.

"Is something the matter, Michio?" Sawako leans over and addresses him directly. "Do you take issue with that statement? I hope that this isn't personally insulting to you or anything."

He shakes his head and shoves his hands into his trench coat pockets. "Nah, it's nothing like that. I thought it was strange too. That's why I didn't really want to bring up the other thing…"

"Other… thing? There was… something else… that was strange?" Pal's voice is full of concern at the prospect of more mysteries.

"I meant to bring it up earlier, but we kept getting sidetracked by stuff so I never had the chance to say anything," Michio admits.

Shizu's eyes widen. That's right. There was another thing that was strange about the circumstances surrounding Takumi's death.

* * *

 **What was odd about Michio's autopsy report besides the cause of death?**

A. The amount of blood

 **B. The time of death**

C. The fact that he didn't get more out of it

* * *

Shizu wants to make sure she's remembering everything correctly. "Michio, you said that Takumi was apparently killed sometime last night, right?"

Michio replies, "Yeah, that's right. His body temperature was too close to room temperature to have been killed this morning. He had to have been sitting there for a while. I can't imagine that he was killed this morning."

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Fumika looks exasperated. "All of our theories were based on him dying sometime this morning!"

He holds up his hands. "Hey, I told you that I forgot to bring it up sooner. It's not my fault that we kept going off on different tangents."

"I don't think he could have said anything sooner, though." Sawako scratches her chin. "While we did discuss for a good while, the thing in common was that we doubted the validity of his autopsy report, whether that be because of his own lie or Shizu's meddling. If he had brought the time of death up sooner, then we would have only increased out suspicions."

"And it's not like he had much of a chance to bring it up anyways… We were kind of ravenous for suspects…" Hachi looks a little sick to her stomach.

"But, where exactly does this leave us?" Samia asks everyone. "We're certain about the autopsy now, right? So, do we just accept that we were completely wrong about the time of death?"

Chouki folds his arms. "It did look like he was still eating when he died… Was that part of the culprit's setup as well?"

"According to Shizu's testimony, Takumi would not eat anything unless it was brand new," Kogi muses. "Going off of that, it sounds like the culprit put out that food in order to fool us."

"Did they also move his body into that position?" Tsubame wonders. "If they had enough the time, then he could have been killed anywhere and then put there…"

"They could have had free reign to do whatever they wanted if the crime occurred during nighttime. We would have all been slumbering peacefully." Morgan's words cause a chill to spread out around the room.

"Everyone… please hold on for… just one second." Pal breaks the silence, his distinctive speech pattern laced with concern. "Are we certain that… this crime took place… during the night?"

Michio coughs. "Uh… are we back to doubting my findings already?"

"I do not mean… to be so rude…" Pal bows his head in shame. "However, there is something… that I found rather peculiar… if the crime did take place… much later…"

"Well… you're certainly being a lot more polite about it than some other people. If there really is an issue, we should hear you out." Michio smiles at him patiently.

"Thank you…" Pal replies. "I hope that… I will not waste your time."

If Pal is the one speaking up, then this might be something worth thinking about. He doesn't seem like the type of person to interject, so this could very well be something important.

* * *

 **Nonstop Debate**

 **Michio:** I'm confident that my autopsy report was correct. Takumi had to _**have died sometime last night**_!

 **Pal:** There is an issue… with that theory… however.

 **Kazuha:** Are you talking about how paranoid he was? Do you think that he might not have come out at all last night?

 **Kaixi:** He was one of the people who _**split off from out group**_ ….

 **Pal:** No… I am concerned with… the blood.

 **Joshua:** …Well that's _**not ominous at all**_.

 **Pal:** If he was really killed… last night… then why is the blood… so fresh?

 **Kaixi:** Oh, that's a good point!

 **Samia:** Blood dries out after a while, but it still looked wet to me. Plus, I'm sure that Michio would have said something if it had been dried out.

 **Michio:** No, it was definitely still dripping… That is strange…

 **Fumika:** We already know the culprit tampered with the scene. It's possible that they did something with the blood.

 **Chouki:** What, you think that they _added the blood later on_?

 **Fumika:** It could have also been _something that looked like blood_ but wasn't.

 **Kazuha:** Or maybe Monokuma _kept the blood fresh to go with their cover up_?

 **Pal:** Or… the blood is true… and _Takumi was killed this morning_ … as we originally thought…

 **Shizu:** _Hmm… There are some concerning points in this discussion, but it looks like people are finally starting to have some interesting ideas. They might need my support, however. I could do well to springboard off of that one in particular…_

 **Plastic Bag**

 _added the blood later on_

 **BREAK**

* * *

"Chouki might actually be onto something there," Shizu states.

He traces his vein tattoos and pouts. "What do you mean "actually"?"

She ignores his tone. "It's entirely possible that the culprit put the blood at the crime scene sometime this morning. Do you remember that plastic bag that you found in the trash can?"

"What, that piece of trash?" He squints. "Don't tell me that it was actually something incredibly important or whatever. What the hell could it have been?"

"Wait, there was a plastic bag at the scene of the crime?" Samia's eyes light up.

Shizu nods. "That's right. Someone threw it away in the kitchen. I believe that it's linked to the problem that we're having right now."

"Um… what exactly is it though?" Joshua asks. "I mean, a plastic bag could technically be used for a lot of things. Unless there was something in the plastic bag, how would you know what it was?"

"For the record, I don't think there was anything inside," Kazuha clarifies. "Well, there was a bit of water, but I just assumed that it was rinsed out."

"Yeah, it was wet," Chouki confirms. "Still doesn't tell us what it is."

Most people might not have an idea, but Shizu does. From the look on Samia's face, she's got a pretty good idea as well. Thinking about what she's seen these past few days and what would be necessary, there's only really one option.

* * *

 **What the bag that Chouki found?**

 **A. Blood Bag**

B. Bag of Red Wine

C. Nothing, it was a decoy

* * *

"Samia, do you remember what else was in the infirmary?" Shizu needn't have asked, judging from Samia's previous expressions, but it would be good to immediately back herself up.

She lets out a small breath. "You think that someone took one of the blood bags out of there? That's definitely possible… and it would explain the discrepancy with the time…"

Kazuha holds up a hand to stop them. "Wait, hold up a second. There are blood bags here in the infirmary? Since when?"

"Y-yeah, I don't remember that!" Kaixi agrees nervously. "Then again, I didn't really look around the infirmary that much… Sorry…"

"Since the place has been opened," Samia explains. "Did you all really not take a good look around? Maybe I've just been in there for the past few days so I'm used to staying there, but that feels like an important place to investigate."

Pal scratches his chin with his sharp nails. "I believed that you… had everything under control. I apologize for… leaving all of the work… to you. However, if there truly were blood bags… then I have… no further questions… to raise."

"Wait, there are just bags of blood lying around for anyone to use?" Soraru looks unnerved. "Then someone just… just dumped a bunch of blood on Takumi and called it a day? That's…" Xe shivers and stops talking.

Chouki scoffs. "That sounds like something you would do."

A strangled choking noise emits from Soraru, and xer face contorts in a horrifying manner. Clearly, something troubling is going through xer mind, but xe doesn't appear able to make any sounds that are more coherent.

Shizu, for once, takes pity on xem and moves the discussion forwards. "I hope that it's clear by now that the culprit could have killed Takumi late last night and been able to set up the scene for this morning by using the blood bag and cereal. It was all a ruse in order to make us mistake the time of death."

"Actually, I have a small issue, kind of?" Kaixi holds up his finger and looks around really nervously. "I'm sorry, I know that you're probably right, and my point probably isn't even worth bringing up, and I know you're already annoyed by people interrupting you and-"

"Kaixi… Breathe," Morgan commands him with a serene voice. "I am certain that we would not mind some extra clarification. We can never be too careful when our lives are on the line."

Sawako pounds her fist into her palm. "Morgan is correct. If we leave any stone unturned, we will all face certain doom. No more hesitating. Speak clearly, please, and explain the issue."

"A-alright…" He still looks like a kid who just knocked over the birthday boy's cake, but he continues regardless. "Here g-goes something?"

* * *

 **Nonstop Debate Start**

 **Kaixi:** W-well, everything seems pretty sure that the blood bag was used, right? I don't want to ruin everyone's hard work…

 **Fumika:** Just get to the point already.

 **Kaixi:** Okay… It's just… the killer probably would have wanted to _**have the blood bag on hand**_ right when they were covering up the crime scene, right?

 **Samia:** If they didn't, then they'd have to go to the infirmary and risk being seen.

 **Kaixi:** R-right! So, I was wondering… would they be able to do that?

 **Michio:** Blood needs to be kept cool if you're storing it. Otherwise, it's as good as useless, and I would have noticed that immediately.

 **Sawako:** There are _**plenty of cool places**_ to store things in the kitchen. What is the issue?

 **Kaixi:** But what would the killer have done if somebody noticed the blood bag? That would be a huge risk!

 **Pal:** Hmm… you do… have a point there.

 **Tsubame:** There's _**not much room to hide things**_ if you need to a specific temperature requirement.

 **Michio:** Yeah, someone could have found it at any time and alerted everyone.

 **Kaixi:** So my question _**wasn't dumb**_ then?

 **Shizu:** _It's a valid point, but still… There's a pretty obvious flaw in Kaixi's argument._

 **Milk Cartons**

 _ **not much room to hide things**_

 **BREAK**

* * *

Shizu stops everyone before the discussion diverts into a useless tangent. "You're wrong, Tsubame. The kitchen has the perfect place to hide something."

"It does? But the freezer is much too cold, and the fridge is so small… Where could you hide something?" Tsubame tugs on her braid, possibly feeling a little dumb.

Shizu gestures in Hachi's direction, deciding to let her take the glory for this one. "Go ahead, Hachi. Tell them what you discovered."

Her eyes sparkle. "Oh! That's right. Someone totally lined up a bunch of the milk cartons in the fridge. You couldn't see past them, and someone could have totally hidden something back there. It was like a wall of milk!"

Kogi raises an eyebrow. "When you say a wall, you mean all side to side, with no gaps in between, right? If so, then that's definitely suspicious."

Kazuha nods. "It kind of looked like that from what I saw… I didn't get a good angle though, so Hachi would probably be better at explaining."

"Yeah, it was super weird," Hachi confirms. "We didn't find anything back there when we looked, but that blood bag could have been there beforehand."

Chouki shakes his head. "I'm still not sure why you're all thinking that this plastic bag has to be the blood bag."

In an attempt to cheer him up, Hachi says, "Aw, don't downplay your own discoveries. Besides, everything's working out really nicely if that was a blood bag!"

"Yeah, but there's no proof that it's not some regular piece of trash," he counters. "We've got no evidence that the culprit's even the one who threw it away. And, at this point, the person who actually threw it out isn't going to say anything because everyone will suspect them."

"No, I think we can safely assume that the culprit was responsible for the plastic bag," Shizu says bluntly.

Chouki calls her out on this. "Prove it then. This better not be a bluff."

She grips her pen tightly. "Of course not." Why would she lie in a situation like this? What kind of person would reach the truth by piling on a bunch of lies? Shaking her head, she checks her notes again, making sure what she's about to say is correct. After all, only the culprit had the chance to leave that evidence behind.

* * *

 **Dining Hall Restrictions**

* * *

"That plastic bag would not be there if it wasn't thrown out sometime this morning," Shizu declares. "The entire reason behind the dining hall being locked off at night is so that Monokuma can restock and clean everything without being bothered."

"Clean everything?" Sawako mutters. "Then, in that case, the plastic bag would have been thrown out if it was left on the previous day."

"Takumi's body was discovered this morning. Nobody other than the culprit would have had the chance to throw anything away." Fumika's eyes narrow as she thinks this all over.

Grumbling slightly, Chouki says, "That's assuming that Monokuma is telling the truth when he said that."

From high above them, they all hear him yell, "Hey! Don't just claim that I'm a filthy liar! You chumps have no idea how much effort I go through to keep this place nice and clean!"

"Judging by the amount of available washing machines, I would say that we have a very good guess of how much effort you put in." Truly, Morgan's passive-aggressiveness is restrained for no one.

Monokuma growls. "Oh, so you'd rather wallow around in your own filth then? Fine, I can stop cleaning up and let you do all of the hard work yourselves. Oh, and I guess you won't need to use those washing machines either since they're clearly inadequate."

Even Pal sounds exasperated. "Please… don't"

Kazuha kicks the ground nervously. "So… then Shizu's right then? That's what you've been doing all of these days?"

"Aw, there's no need to sound so unsure of things." He gives an evil laugh. "I want to make sure that everyone is comfortable for the horrifying murder game. Otherwise, you'd just all go Lord of the Flies on me within a few days. That's not going to work out at all!"

"You didn't answer the question," Kaixi points out, tugging on the straps of his backpack as he questions their gamemaster.

"So impatient, all of you." Monokuma pouts. "You can't wait for me to answer, you don't like the daily free cleaning services I provide, you keep having to ask me for help in the middle of trials. What more do you want from me?"

"I want to go home." Kogi's voice is emotionless.

He cackles maniacally. "Nope, too bad. All you get is me cleaning up the dining hall and kitchen areas during nighttime. No other luxuries for you! Well, that's not strictly true. I would never interfere with the culprit's plan. If they leave evidence behind, clearly they want you all to find it! So, I don't touch anything they've been handling, as per the rules."

"That should settle it then. Even if that bag was left in the trash earlier, it would still be tied to the culprit." Michio slams his fist on the desk triumphantly. "It was definitely the blood bag then. What else would they have thrown away?"

"Guess I'll rescind my point then," Chouki says, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Never imagine that I'd be the one to find a crucial piece of evidence."

Pal smiles widely at him. "You did… very well, Chouki. You should be… proud of yourself."

"Yeah, you may be the grumpiest of all Gus's, but you're our Grumpy Gus!" Soraru proclaims. "Though you might have to be Trash Grumpy Gus because of your skills at trash digging… Oh well, that's still an enviable title."

"…Fine." Chouki decides not to acknowledge xer comment.

"This should paint a pretty clear picture of what happened," Shizu states. "There's no doubt now that Michio was correct in his assessments."

Raising a fist in the air triumphantly, Michio cheers. "Yeah! Finally, we're done just ignoring all of my hard work. While we still need to figure out the cause of death, that'll be much easier now that we know when Takumi was killed. It was sometime in the middle of the night and tampered with the crime scene later. Maybe, if we go over alibis again, we can start narrowing things down."

"No way, dude!"

Shizu had almost forgotten entirely about Joshua. He had been silent for a really long time. Judging by the look on his face, he's wanted to say this for a while now, but perhaps he kept getting interrupted or ignored. Still, he shrugs and says, "Uh… yeah, about that…"

"What's the matter this time?" she groans.

"Well, everyone else seemed to just accept this once we believed Michio's autopsy, but I'm still kind of confused about one part. Maybe everyone else already knows the answer and I'm being dumb?" He somehow shrugs even harder. "Who knows? The possibilities are endless."

Sighing and adjusting her glasses, she says, "If you explain yourself, then I'm sure we'll see who knows what exactly. I'm guessing this has something to do with when the crime was committed."

"Yeah, I kinda don't see how the cover-up is possible under these circumstances." He clicks his tongue experimentally. "Guess we'll get to see how wrong I am together, huh? This should be fun."

"Fun" is subjective, and Joshua even sounds sarcastic when he says it. If he really had such a burning question, he should have spoken up sooner. That way, he could participate a little more in the previous discussions. Whatever the case, she has to clear this up now, or else Michio's hard work will never be useful.

* * *

 **Rebuttal Showdown Start**

 **Joshua:** So, like, I don't really get why everyone's so sure about what happened, y'know?

 **Joshua:** I mean, yeah, someone could have dressed the crime scene up to confuse us.

 **Joshua:** But, I mean… When would they have had the time to do that?

 **Joshua:** They couldn't have done it last night.

 **Joshua:** The blood would've dried and stuff, and the cereal would've been all gross and mushy from being in the milk for so long.

 **Joshua:** They couldn't have done it this morning either.

 **Joshua:** It must have taken, like, at least a little bit of time to move everything into place.

 **Joshua:** There's no way they would've risked being caught red-handed, literally because of all the blood.

 **Joshua:** They never had any chance to do anything!

 **Advance**

 **Shizu:** That's not even remotely true.

 **Shizu:** There was plenty of time this morning for them to set everything up.

 **Shizu:** Nobody would have been able to walk in on them either.

 **Joshua:** Hold up, you're contradicting yourself!

 **Joshua:** Didn't you just say that the dining hall closed during nighttime?

 **Joshua:** Because of the Monokuma symbol, we're _**not allowed to be inside**_ during that time.

 **Joshua:** Unless you're talking about after 8 AM, then maybe…

 **Joshua:** But that's _**still not enough time**_ to get everything ready!

 **Joshua:** I'd know that I would be super paranoid about only having thirty minutes to make sure everything's perfect.

 **Shizu:** _I see… So that's where the misconception lies. Joshua's almost right, but he's forgotten something important. Actually, it's probably good that he brought this up… This could be very enlightening._

 **Rules**

 _ **not allowed to be inside**_

 **BREAK**

* * *

Snapping her fingers, Shizu asserts, "You're wrong about not being allowed in the dining hall, Joshua."

"Uh, what now?" He blinks several times in quick succession. "But… but you literally just said that the dining hall closes off during nighttime. Monokuma cleans everything up in there. There's literally no way for anyone to be inside."

"You've forgotten what the rules state. It's not that nobody is allowed to be in rooms blocked off with a Monokuma symbol on them. It's that we're not allowed to force our way past them," she explains.

He tilts his head. "Wait, really?"

"Monokuma probably worded the rule strangely so that people would just assume that nobody could go into those rooms," Sawako says, putting a hand to her cheek. "He wanted people to make the mistake that you just made."

Fumika continues the explanation. "The dining hall is the only room that you could exploit that loophole with as well. All of the other rooms were either completely off limits or were always available."

"Is that why he locked off the laundry room and the infirmary?" Kaixi wonders. "Was he trying to get us to associate the Monokuma symbols with complete inaccessibility?"

"Perhaps… he was hoping… that the culprit would be… the only one to see through… that ruse," Pal wonders.

"But uh… from the sounds of things," Joshua begins, "I was… um… kind of the only one not to figure it out? So, uh… that's embarrassing."

Soraru laughs it off. "Nah, you can't blame yourself for not thinking right when you're super sleepy."

He looks a little confused. "I'm kind of always super sleepy." When he sees that xer smile only gets more devious, he slaps himself on the forehead and gives a little chuckle. "Okay, I walked right into that one. Well played."

Samia examines her podium with an intense stare, and she begins tapping her fingers on it. "So, I'm glad that we've cleared that up, but now we're gone and raised an interesting point. I hadn't really thought about it before, but it sounds like the culprit hid themselves in the dining hall last night."

"That would match up with when Takumi was killed," Michio agrees. "They would have had to stay behind after murdering him to set up the scene. Plus, it's not like they could just waltz out of there after their job was done."

"The dining hall should have still had that symbol on it… Even if they couldn't see it, does that mean that they still weren't allowed to leave?" Kazuha sounds unsure of herself.

Shizu nods grimly. "That's right. After the culprit killed Takumi, they allowed themselves to be locked inside the dining hall. They must have put more thought into this plan than I originally assumed…" She looks over at everyone's faces, seeing if she can parse out any suspicious activity, but nothing jumps out at her. "Until 8 AM today, they were still inside with the body."

 **Ultimate Trial Suspended**

* * *

A/N: Oh man, this chapter was a huge slog to get through, and I'm still not entirely pleased with it. Note to any upcoming SYOC writers: make sure you do a good job outlining your trials before you start writing. It will save you a lot of headaches. That aside, I hope this first part of the trial was interesting and got people thinking more about what happened. There weren't exactly a lot of revelations quite yet, so things might feel kind of inconclusive. Apologies about that. This just felt like a good stopping point, and there should be enough here to get your brains working. The super-obsessive people might be able to pin down the culprit already, at least if I've done my job as a planning-story man correctly.

Once again, thank you to everyone who reviewed, everyone who speculated, and everyone who read my story in general. It means the world to me. With that being said, I hope you have a fantastic day!


	14. Chapter 1: A Different Kind of Prison 08

Beta Read by Lupus Overkill

* * *

 **Ultimate Trial Resume**

The discussion has been going at a rapid pace, but, with the latest revelation, everyone has taken the time to absorb things. Shizu decides to do a little mental recap as well, in case things go off of the rails quickly again. Takumi had died late at night, not early this morning like they had all thought. The culprit, whoever they were, had dressed up the dining hall to make it look as though he had been killed while eating breakfast. The cereal in the milk and the fresh blood proved that this wasn't set up over night. Instead, the killer set it up in the morning as well. Due to the time constraints, this meant that they must have been waiting in the dining all night in order to pull off this crime. That was the conclusion she had reached.

Still, there were still several pieces missing from the whole puzzle. Fumika is the one who brings one of them up. "We're all in agreement that someone was hiding in the dining hall until 8 AM this morning, right?" After looking around the room to see several nods, she continues. "In that case, I would like to go back to discussing the cause of death. We still haven't figured out what killed Takumi despite starting with that topic first. Now that we've narrowed down the culprit's movements, they might lead to some new revelations."

Kazuha agrees. "Yeah, I'm still lost on that one. We can't really get anywhere if we're missing such a crucial part of the crime…"

"They were stuck in one place all night…" Michio strokes his chin thoughtfully. "What did they do with the murder weapon?"

"If it was cleaned up, then we know that the culprit is responsible for that. Monokuma made it very clear that he would not mess with anything the culprit worked with," Tsubame reminds everyone.

"Well, they could have dropped it off in their room when they snuck out," Joshua offers. "I don't know if we'll be able to deduce much from the murder weapon."

"Especially because, again, we still don't know the method." Kazuha bites her lip.

Sawako stands up a bit straighter and announces, "Well, that is what this trial is for. We must discuss this in order to solve the mystery! Sitting around and moping will do us no good. There may still be some hidden truth that we have yet to find."

Pal makes a clicking sound with his tongue. "Then, our next… avenue of discussion… would be the status… of the dining hall… and connected areas?"

Giving her consent with a simple nod, Shizu says, "That sounds like a good idea to me. I'm sure we haven't talked about everything yet."

"Alright! Let's give it our all then!" Kaixi cheers. "We were all scurrying around that area. Chouki even found some literal trash, so we can't get stuck for that long!"

She wishes that she shared his enthusiasm, but they have already been talking about the cause of death for quite a while now. Could they really solve this problem so easily? The culprit seemed to have effortlessly hid it so far, after all. Her realism could probably be mistaken for pessimism at this point. Maybe she should just listen to what the others are saying for now.

* * *

 **Nonstop Debate Start**

 **Sawako:** There must be something relating to the dining hall areas that we have not discussed yet.

 **Joshua:** But, like, what? We can't just pull things out of thin air.

 **Morgan:** The same goes for the murderer. Everything they used must either be in the dining hall area or brought to the scene of the crime.

 **Kazuha:** Are you saying they brought the murder weapon from outside?

 **Morgan:** They may have also done the same with _the object they struck him with_.

 **Michio:** That might be true, but, remember, we don't know what either of those were. And, by this point, they surely would have disposed of it.

 **Kaixi:** If there was anything pointing to who they were, they could have _tried to dispose of that evidence_ too. Like how they threw away the used blood bag…

 **Fumika:** They were trapped in the dining hall all night. It might have been easier to just _hide the evidence_.

 **Tsubame:** Wouldn't leaving anything at the crime scene be a huge risk? Unless they were certain it couldn't be found, I don't feel like they would have left anything lying around.

 **Chouki:** So, this whole discussion was pointless then, huh?

 **Shizu:** _There's a lot of possibilities to chase here… I need to think about what I know is true for sure. The culprit was definitely in the dining hall last night. Anything that was left there must have come from them… Then, that would mean…_

 **Red Towels**

 _hide the evidence_

 **BREAK**

* * *

Shizu chooses to address Fumika directly. "I think you might be onto something… Do you remember what we were talking about earlier today? About that thing you found?"

Fumika drums her fingers on the podium for a few moments before facing her and nodding. "You mean the towels that I discovered at the back of the cleaning closet, correct?"

"That's right," she confirms. It's a little bit strange that Fumika didn't bring this up herself. She doesn't seem like the type to forget, at least not to Shizu. However, right now, that's unimportant.

Chouki clears his throat. "Would you two care to explain to the rest of us? Not all of us are privy to whatever little private conversations you had in the past."

"What's this about towels?" Hachi wonders.

After looking over at Shizu, Fumika decides to explain. "I was investigating the cleaning closet, and I found a few towels that were pretty wet. Someone had shoved them all the way in the back, so they were clearly trying to hide them. I thought that the culprit might have been the one to do that, but, now that we know they were in that area all night, it seems irrefutable."

"Well, it could have technically been Monokuma who left them there," Joshua offers up weakly. "If he needed to clean stuff up, then he might have used the towels. But, uh, that's probably not very likely, huh?"

"No way!" Monokuma shouts down. "If I was going to use those towels to clean anything up, I wouldn't have left them there. What kind of cheap service do you think I provide in this place?"

Shizu narrows her eyes. "Then there's no doubt that it was one of us."

"Oops." He shrugs but doesn't actually seem all that concerned.

"This seems like the point to bring up if one of you used those towels. Otherwise, we'll have to assume it was the culprit. Though, that was already pretty heavily implied." Nobody responds to Fumika's point. After a few seconds or so, she smirks. "Thought as much. Looks like the culprit was trying to hide something."

"It was towels… correct?" Pal asks.

Soraru sticks out xer tongue. "Yeah, that's kind of what we've been talking about this entire time. Did you stop paying attention for a few minutes there? Ooh, do you have some secret siren knowledge that would solve the case?"

Pal gives xem a look but responds coolly. "I was simply wondering… if they used the towels… as the actual murder weapon."

"How exactly are thinking that happened?" Samia questions him.

He scratches his chin with his sharp nails before answering. "I did not… want to think about this… but I cannot ignore… the possibility… Perhaps he was… strangled to death with them."

"H-he went out like that?" Kazuha flinches backwards.

"Wait, then why were they wet?" Soraru asks. "Did Takumi salivate all over them as he was being choked? From the sound of things, those towels were pretty damp."

Several people gag at the mention of that. Kogi manages to suppress that reaction and states, "I could be wrong, but I think that Takumi's head injury came up before he died. There's a chance that it was already bleeding. Maybe the culprit could have cleaned up the blood with the same tool they used to murder him."

Michio shakes his head. "That head injury was pretty severe, even if it wasn't the killing blow, so there would have been a lot of blood. Still, there's no way that Takumi was strangled to death. Strangulation leaves scarring around the throat, and he didn't have any injuries there. Like I said, the only injury he had was the one on the back of his head caused by the blunt object."

"Oh… I see." Pal bows his head deeply and apologizes. "I did not mean to… cause any misinformation."

"No way, it was something worth thinking about!" Hachi yells desperately.

Tsubame agrees as well. "We also know that he could not have been strangled by anything as well, so it was good that you brought that up."

"Then, did the culprit just use the towels to clean up the bloodstains?" Samia asks.

Looking a little miffed, Fumika shakes her head. "It's not out of the question, but that would make sense if it was just one or two towels that were wet. There were a few more, however. I can't imagine that the bloodstain was so big that it required that many towels to clean it up."

Soraru jumps up and down, waving xer hands wildly. "Ooh! Ooh! What if they washed a bunch of the other towels in the sink to throw us off and make us think that the towels were more important than they actually were? Double reverse psychology!"

"Why would they do that?" Morgan shakes her head. "If they wished to mislead us in this manner, then they would not have hidden the towels where we could have easily missed them. There is no way they would have made their efforts easier to trace while also attempting to hide all of their evidence."

"What else is there to clean up besides blood, though? Because, whatever it was, it sounds like there was a lot of it." Crossing his hands, Joshua frowns in confusion.

Chouki pouts. "At this point, maybe it's all a red-herring. Occam's razor and all that. We know that they had to clean up the bloodstains from when they first attacked him, so that's probably all it was. There's no telling how much effort it took, so they might have just been extra careful."

No. There's something more to this than at first glance. Shizu wracks her brain, but nothing is coming up. Her fists clench in fury, and she can feel herself start to scowl. She's not getting anywhere by just trying to will the answer into existence. She needs to look over everything she knows for certain again, throwing out all preconceptions.

Here are the facts that she's sure of. The crime took place in the middle of the night. Before killing Takumi, the culprit struck him on the back of the head with some sort of blunt object. It might have been something from the kitchen or something they brought with them, but the actual object doesn't matter. They would have had time to clean it or hide it by the time everyone started investigating. However, that strike must have been very hard, as Michio has stated. It would have caused severe bleeding. Then, the culprit killed him for real. At some point, they used the towels to clean up something, though she's not entirely sure what that was. They proceeded to stay the night in the dining hall area before finally setting up the crime scene for this morning.

As she thinks this over, something starts to bug her. Perhaps it was just Michio's confidence in his autopsy, but she only just realized now she had been operating under faulty logic. She had been aware that blunt force trauma was not the cause of death for a while now, but, to anyone looking at the crime scene, that seems ridiculous, as evidenced by the discussion. There were no other injuries, so of course that must be what killed him. From an outside perspective, Takumi went down in a single blow.

So, why would the killer think any differently?

She needs to test her hypothesis, she needs to prove to herself that she's not just overthinking things.

* * *

 **Nonstop Debate Start(?)**

 **Kogi:** Have you even been paying attention to what we've been saying?

 **Chouki:** Not like there's anything else to do.

 **Michio:** If that strike happened after he died, that would have been the first thing I mentioned. Why would I try to hide that fact?

 **Soraru:** Because you're the killer!

 **Michio:** Monokuma literally said that I'm not!

 **Hachi:** It's kind of a _waste of time_ to respond to stuff like that…

 **Kazuha:** We're still no closer to finding anything about what the murder weapon was.

 **Kaixi:** Come on everyone! We _can't give up_ now!

 **Shizu:** _I don't have the time nor do I care what they're talking about. From the sounds of things, it's nothing of importance anyways._

 **Shut up!**

 _ **everything**_

 **BREAK**

* * *

Everyone turns to stare at her, varying expressions on all of their faces at her interruption. Joshua is the first to speak up. "…Um, what?"

"You weren't getting anywhere, and I had something important to say," Shizu explains.

"Well, it's just that you normally respond to something in the discussion before you tell us exactly why we're wrong and stuff." Joshua rubs the back of his neck awkwardly.

Samia crosses her arms. "This had better be important."

Shizu nods succinctly. "I wanted to check something with the rest of you. Say you had just bashed someone's head in with so much force that now they're bleeding out on the floor in front of you. You're about to be stuck with that body for the entire night."

"Are you seriously asking if one of us is the murderer?" Kogi rolls his eyes.

"No, of course not," she denies, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Just think about what you would do in that situation."

"It would depend on whether or not I had planned everything out, I imagine," Sawako muses. "However, I would like to think that I would probably panic over what I had just done. I cannot imagine that taking a life would ever be easy."

Michio furrows his brow, and it looks like his hands are trembling slightly. "But that's not exactly analogous to our current situation. Remember, that blow didn't kill Takumi."

"I'm aware of that… but only because you told me." She pauses to let her words sink in.

Morgan's eyes widen slightly, but she quickly calms her expression. "I originally thought that as well… You are implying that the killer believed that their attack killed Takumi."

"Huh? I don't get it," Soraru complains. "What kind of incompetent killer doesn't even know if they've done the job correctly?"

"I think that was what Shizu was directing us towards…" Tsubame rests her chin on her hand as she leans on her podium. "Michio believes that the wound would have bled a lot, and, if he was knocked unconscious, then he would appear dead…"

"I know I wouldn't want to go poking what I thought was a dead body, either. There's a lot of ways they might have overlooked it." Kaixi shivers.

"Even so, Takumi still died," Sawako reasons. "They must have realized he was still alive at some point, or else this situation might not have happened."

Shizu twirls her pen around her fingers. "I wouldn't be so quick to think that. For now, assume that they had no idea. Think about what they would do next. Do you think that they would want to go to sleep when there's a dead body sitting a few rooms away?"

Making a bit of a face, Hachi says, "No way! That'd be totally gross!"

"Even if they were okay at first, the smell of the body and the blood would be hard to ignore," Michio asserts. "I'd probably want to move the body somewhere, even if it was just a little further away. Plus, if they were panicking when they hit him, they'd feel even more uneasy."

Kogi continues this train of thought. "They would still have to clean up the blood that was left over from their attack. Moving the body to clean that up would also be practical."

"Where exactly would they move it to, though?" Joshua asks.

Adjusting her glasses, Shizu looks around the room once more as she says, "Well, it would most likely be a place where the smell wouldn't reach them. In addition, it would probably be a place where they wouldn't have to go until they needed to collect the body. After all, if they're hiding it to avoid looking at it, then they would want it in a hidden place. And there is a place like that in the area, which solves pretty much every question we've had."

It takes a few moments, but Fumika raises her head solemnly and declares, "They hid him in the freezer."

There's an outburst of noise from all around the room. "Huh? How'd you come to that conclusion?!" Hachi shrieks. "Why would they put him there?!"

"It fits everything that Shizu just described," Fumika says succinctly. "It's out of the way, it's cold so you wouldn't hang around in there, and you keep the door closed so you don't have to look in there."

Shizu nods. "It also would have a few byproducts that would explain several other mysteries that have been puzzling us for quite some time. Namely, the cause of death."

Kazuha pales dramatically. "N-no way… you mean that he… he froze to death?!"

"If Takumi was unconscious when the culprit threw him into the freezer," Morgan thinks out loud, "then he might have died before he woke up again. He would not even have had the chance to struggle or attempt to escape."

"That is…" Pal fails to find the proper words as he stares blankly in front of him in horror.

"It would also explain the wet towels," continues Fumika, ignoring the shocked looks of most of the people in the room. "If they stored him in the freezer, then he would have frozen a little bit, even if it was just over night. They would have had to fetch him in the morning, and that ice would have melted."

"So, they left him to defrost on the towels, and that's why they were wet this morning. It would explain why his clothes weren't all that wet either." Though Samia's words are calm, her expression is anything but.

Michio snaps his fingers. "Plus, that wouldn't have messed up the time of death. Normally, freezing people would seriously mess things up because the body temperature would be off, but, if he was defrosted early enough, then the times would still match up about the same. That's kind of lucky."

"That sounds very unfortunate. They go through all the effort but sheer coincidence still places them at the time of the murder. Truly, the spirits must have placed a horrible curse upon their soul." Morgan covers her mouth, hiding her mysterious smile.

"What a horrible way to go." Kaixi still isn't over the revelation. "He'd be slowly dying as his body gives up on him, but he wouldn't be able to do anything about it."

"It's not… a quick process either. It might have taken… an hour or so… for him to completely pass on… to the afterlife." Pal shakes his head somberly. "Truly, that is a death… no one deserves."

Samia gulps. "If he was unconscious, he may not have felt anything. It's little comfort, but still… We can only hope."

"Like I said earlier, the killer probably wasn't even aware of what they had done. They might to give him a quick death but accidentally dragged it out. Until this point, they probably still didn't figure it out." Shizu clicks her tongue. "Well, it sounds like everyone agrees. If there are any objections, now's the time to say them."

"I don't want to believe it, but what other choice do we have?" Hachi wails, wiping away a few stray tears.

"It's terrible… To think that someone would…" Kazuha bites her tongue and is unable to continue.

Joshua answers uneasily. "It would also explain the murder weapon. You don't normally think of a room as something you can kill someone with. No real way of hiding that either. Ugh… still…"

Biting the inside of her cheek, Sawako reluctantly speaks up. "I'm almost hesitant to ask, but do you have any proof that this happened? It's not that I don't believe you, but, if we can make a stronger connection between the ideas, it will make it harder for the culprit to argue their way out of this later."

Glancing down at her notepad, Shizu doesn't think she has any direct proof that this was what occurred. Had there been evidence left behind, they would have almost certainly reached this conclusion much earlier. However, there is one thing that she and several others found odd that would be explained by the freezer being the murder weapon. Something that should have been there but was mysteriously missing…

* * *

 **Takumi's Bag**

* * *

"I do not have any evidence that proves definitively that this is the case, but I do have an explanation that strengthens the argument," Shizu says. "Do you remember how the bag that Takumi always wore on his head was missing?"

"Where exactly are you going with this?" Chouki demands. "Don't tell me that they'd take the bag off of his head just because he was in the freezer."

Sawako shakes her head. "It would make some amount of sense, however. They could not leave it on him while he was in the freezer. The bag would have frozen too, and it is nearly impossible to get paper bags such as those fully dry. There would still be wrinkles left over, at the very least."

"Maybe they could have taken it off before they shoved him into the freezer and put it back on later," Kazuha points out.

Looking back and forth for a few moments, Kaixi eventually says, "B-but um… wouldn't the bag still have been a little soaked from the b-blood of the original h-hit? If they tried to p-put it back on later, it might have torn really b-badly! Um, not that your idea was bad or anything…"

"You do not need to apologize for offering up suggestions," Tsubame tells him calmly.

He gives her a smile that's almost too wide in response. "O-oh, of course, my bad! Thank you very much."

Shizu ignores this and continues with her explanation. "I hope that it is clear by now that, if the freezer was used, there is little they could have done to keep the bag around. Thus, they left Takumi without it in the end."

"Hachi tilts her head. Wait, then what happened to the bag now?"

"They could have easily hid it on their person and disposed of it once they were safely out of the dining hall. If it was hidden at the crime scene, we would have found it. I found the towels after all." Fumika crosses her arms after she finishes speaking.

"I see." Sawako holds up a fist. "That is a suitable explanation. Thank you, Shizu, and everyone else who contributed. I believe that this should be enough for us to proceed with everything."

"Proceed where though?" Soraru whines. "Yeah, we figured out the murder weapon and everything but that still doesn't tell us who did the murdering. The trail's still cold."

Kogi sighs. "Xe's correct, unfortunately. Any one of us could have snuck down to the dining hall last night. Knowing what happened is nice, but it doesn't get us anywhere. All that they would have needed to pull this crime off was knowledge of the rule loophole."

"Yay! I'm right!" Xe cheers happily. Then, xer face scrunches up. "Aw man, wait, this is the one time I didn't want to be right. Usually everyone yells at me for saying something stupid, so I thought that might have happened this time…"

"We're at a really bad place if Soraru is starting to sound agreeable…" Chouki laments.

Michio snaps his fingers. "Maybe we should think about who was able to pull this off. We can't say for certain that our accounts won't get us anywhere, so we should at least try to talk about it before giving up completely. Some sort of truth might be reached."

Pal frowns and says, "You say that… we should discuss what happened… but what exactly should we say? I am afraid that… most of us did not… do very much yesterday… to give a time frame."

"Well, some people were kind of absent for most of the day… Not that I think they're suspicious or anything just because of that." Kazuha quickly backpedals but the damage is already done.

Soraru has decided to speak up. "Yeah, those people are totally suspicious! Now it's time to question them until they confess, right?"

"That includes you too," Kogi deadpans.

Xe smirks and tap xer forehead. "Ah, but does it include me more than it includes you? I think not!"

"How would you even figure that out? We haven't even started talking about what everyone did yesterday?" Michio complains.

Chouki scoffs loudly. "Xe's making a fool of xemself as always. Don't even bother listening to xem."

"Could you not be saying that simply because you are also included among that group?" Sawako points out sternly. "Please do not dictate what we can and cannot talk about."

"I'll ignore whoever I want," he retorts sharply. "Especially when it's something as stupid as that."

Kaixi speaks up nervously from the background. "H-hey, there's no need to be rude."

"Hey, who are you calling stupid? I'll have you know that I'm actually very intelligent in the dumb things that I say!" Soraru shouts.

Morgan shakes her head softly. "Ah yes, but you forget that, when our lives are on the line, people get tense, Kaixi. This is especially true when someone is accused of something as awful as murder."

Groaning in annoyance, Samia remarks, "Look, it might not be a bad idea to just start with the people who split from the group yesterday. Even if we don't find anything, at least we should get that discussion over with quickly."

"That's kind of an oxymoron there…" Joshua mutters as he looks over at Soraru.

Kaixi quivers at Morgan's comment. "Oh right… sorry…"

Fumika crosses her arms. "Don't thrust this onto us just because you have no other starting point. You're all just as suspicious since we know that you were all running about yesterday. The rest of us were in our rooms."

Shizu pinches her forehead. "Everyone… would you just-" However, she's interrupted by an explosion of noise from all sides of the courtroom.

Chouki refuses to back down. "More like an actual moron."

"You don't need to apologize for suspecting people, you know." Tsubame doesn't seem all that confident in her own words despite her advice.

Samia slams her fists onto her podium and glares at Fumika. "Oh, now who's thrusting the blame? You can't even prove what you just said."

Pal replies to Chouki, a sad expression cast upon his face. "Your sharp words are… only making you… more suspicious, my friend."

"If you don't have anything to add other than meaningless worries about us suspecting each other, then stop whining and let everyone else talk," Kogi says bluntly.

Morgan's smile fades a little as she states, "What if we did have proof? The spirits are always with me, and you would be surprised at the things they have told me. Perhaps you merely need a little persuasion, no?"

No matter how much Shizu raises her voice, she is unable to stop the awful cacophony of everyone arguing with each other. Somehow, they've managed to immediately descend into several incoherent arguments. How she's even going to stop this, she has no idea. The best she can do is try to listen in before her temper gets the better of her.

* * *

 **Mass Panic Debate Start**

( **Chouki:** Don't start treating me like I'm the killer just because I split off from the group.)

[ **Morgan:** I was communing with the spirits all day, and they would be my witnesses if you were all able to hear their voices.]

{ **Samia:** The most suspicious people are the ones who decided to splinter off from the main group. There's no way to track their movements.}

( **Michio:** That's not the only reason, you know. You've been pretty harshly putting people down this entire time.)

{ **Fumika:** I _**never even left my room**_. Why would I take that risk when things were the tensest and I didn't feel safe?}

( **Chouki:** Because people keep suspecting me _**for trivial reasons**_! Don't tell me you didn't get mad when everyone was on your case.)

[ **Joshua:** Yeah, that's kind of incredibly not an alibi. Just thought you should know.]

[ **Morgan** : I am well _**aware of this fact**_.]

( **Michio:** That's… well…)

{ **Kazuha:** But we know that Takumi left his room, and he was probably the most paranoid of us all…}

[ **Soraru:** Hey, at least I can say that I was busy with baking and pranking all day. That's at least something physical.]

{ **Samia:** We can't trust your word alone. You have every reason to suspect that you're lying about what you did yesterday.}

[ **Kaixi:** I'm sure she's telling the truth though! I mean, if she wasn't, wouldn't she have said something more believable?]

[ **Tsubame:** I agree as well, but, unfortunately, there is no way to prove this… I'm sorry, Morgan.]

{ **Sawako:** This is true for last night as well, when the crime took place. Your alibis are the ones that _ **hold up the least**_ , as much as it pains me to admit it.}

( **Pal:** You should not… shift the blame like that… especially not to someone… we know for certain is innocent.)

[ **Morgan:** There is no need for any sorrow. The culprit will soon reveal themselves regardless, and my innocence shall be shown then.]

{ **Fumika:** Give me a break. This is more painful for me than it is for you.}

( **Chouki:** I'm not shifting any blame. But until you have _**a reason to suspect me**_ , stop singling me out.)

 **Shizu:** _This is a nightmare and a half to try and listen to. I can barely tell who's responding to whom. There seem to be three separate lines of reasoning… With all of this chaos, there's bound to be some kind of mistake. Now, I have to find it before I stop being able to hear myself think._

 **Alibis**

 _ **hold up the least**_

 **BREAK**

* * *

"Hey, everyone shut up!" Shizu shouts but to no avail. Unlike before, there's too much chaos going on for her voice to be heard. Gritting her teeth, she tries again, raising her voice even louder. "I said shut up! Listen already!" Still, the others continue to argue. At this rate, she'll never be heard.

From out of nowhere, a high pitched screech fills the room, and everyone, Shizu included, instinctively covers their eyes. When she glances back up, the only person not hunched over is Pal. He makes a little coughing noise before saying in his normal tone, "I believe that… Shizu had something… important to tell all of us."

"Ugh…" Soraru wails incoherently. "Could you have not shattered our eardrums to tell us that?"

Tsubame rubs her ears slightly. "I didn't think human vocal chords could make such a horrible, high-pitched sound…"

"I think my ears are bleeding," Joshua complains, tugging his beanie further down his head.

Shizu coughs nervously as well. "Um… thank you Pal, but please don't do that again." She then addresses everyone else sternly. "That goes for the rest of you as well. Never do that again. I don't care how important you think whatever you're saying is. If there's complete chaos in the room, adding to it isn't going to help, no matter how groundbreaking it is."

"Don't tell me you just broke that up to lecture us," Chouki says scornfully.

Looking down at her podium in shame, Samia shakes her head. "No… Even if that was the only issue, we still shouldn't have let things get so far out of hand."

Sawako bows her head, her eyes full of remorse. "I am very sorry for contributing to the problem. I should have known better than to attempt to help in that way."

"You should also apologize to those who split from the group while you're at it," Shizu claims. Seeing Sawako's concerned look, she continues, "You claimed that their alibis were the weakest, but that's not the case. While it's true that many of them do not have alibis for the entire day, we aren't concerned with the entire day. We're concerned with that night until the dining hall closed. There are only two people who we know for certain did not head down there."

"T-that's right! Michio and I were talking all night!" Kaixi shouts out from the sidelines. "W-we stayed up until 1 AM talking! There's n-no way we could have done it!"

Michio fiddles with the brim of his hat as he says, "That's right. Though we already knew I was innocent from before… I suppose it doesn't hurt to back things up more."

Fumika scowls. "And what of everyone else? Do they have alibis?"

"I'm afraid not," Shizu denies. "Everyone else went to bed before midnight. We can only take them at their word. There's no way to verify their actions last night."

"So, then it's truly a waste of time to debate alibis for last night," she responds coolly, though there's a hint of frustration on her face.

"C'mon, seriously?" Michio groans. "We're giving up that easily?"

Crossing his arms, Pal digs his nails into his skin, making Shizu flinch. "But what more… can we do here? If nobody saw anyone else… after midnight… then we are all unable… to claim our own innocence, save for those… whose innocence has already… been proven."

"Hold on one second." Kogi holds out his hand, causing Pal to halt in his speech. "I could be wrong, but I'm fairly certain that I heard that everyone who didn't split off ate dinner together, right?"

Tsubame nods slowly, curious as to where he's going with this. "It wasn't everyone, as Samia, Shizu, and Sawako were not present. However, that is mostly correct."

He narrows his eyes slightly. "I see… Then, you all went off together to go talk. Have I got that right as well."

"Pal left, but that's pretty much it." Joshua scratches the back of his neck. "You uh… got a point in here somewhere?"

"Don't you think it's all a little bit suspicious?" Kogi crosses his arms. "I mean, going together in a huge group like that right before the time that we know Takumi was killed would give you a better alibi than most of us."

If they had a way to guarantee that most people would leave before they went off to commit the crime, they would also be able to up the chances that they wouldn't run into anyone when they snuck down," Fumika adds, scratching her chin. "After all, they'd be fast asleep."

"Whoa, hang on!" Hachi yells, not even bothering to hide the panic in her voice. "W-what are you even accusing us of? You're saying that one of us is the c-culprit just because we wanted to t-talk?"

"It need not even be that," Sawako mutters. "Even if you yourselves did not commit the crime, you could have set something up so that another person could kill Takumi with minimal interference."

Kazuha's teeth are chattering but she manages to get out, "H-how w-would we even b-be able to d-do something like that? W-we were j-just t-talking."

"Yeah! Besides, wouldn't we have spoken up about it already if that was the case?" Michio fires back. "Do you think we're that dumb that we wouldn't be able to connect the dots?"

Chouki drums his fingers against his podium lazily. "If you really wanted to protect the person at the cost of your own life, then you'd keep silent."

"This is insane…" Tsubame mumbles as she stands hunched over with her head in her hands and both elbows leaning precariously on her podium.

Shizu agrees with that notion but doesn't voice her concerns just yet. While this definitely would be a sound strategy, claiming that something was done for certain doesn't sound quite right to her.

* * *

 **Nonstop Debate Start**

 **Kogi:** You all claimed that we were suspicious for not being part of the group, but, in reality, it could have been the other way around.

 **Fumika:** By gathering everyone together in one place, you _**create a stronger alibi for yourself**_.

 **Kogi:** You also could have done something to intentionally cause people to leave early for the night.

 **Tsubame:** We were _**only talking that night**_. How could we have ensured anything?

 **Kaixi:** I hope you're not saying that we're just _really boring_ …

 **Samia:** But you all ate dinner together, correct? It's possible that something happened then.

 **Kogi:** You could have _**slipped something into the food**_ to get the others to fall asleep.

 **Samia:** Then, _**during the meeting last night**_ , the drugs kicked in, and you all left, ensuring that the culprit would run into less people.

 **Pal:** We did all… help prepare the meal… and I did feel… a little drained after the fact…

 **Kazuha:** The reason I felt so tired was because of what someone else did?! That's…

 **Hachi:** No way! That's n-not possible!

 **Kogi:** When someone commits murder, you can't say anything like this is impossible.

 **Shizu:** _I thought something was funny with this line of reasoning… Now I see it. It does bring up something rather curious though. But, first, I should address this fact. One thing at a time, Shizu._

 **Sleeping Pill Details**

 _ **during the meeting last night**_

 **BREAK**

* * *

"You're trying to claim that, during dinner, someone slipped everyone some sleeping pills," Shizu states, even though she's technically not certain that this is the case.

Samia nods. "That seems pretty reasonable from what I've seen. Depending on what different people ate, they could have gotten a stronger dosage and been knocked out faster."

Tilting her head, Shizu replies, "That is a good point, but it's flawed from the beginning. Do you know when the meeting took place last night?"

"It was directly after dinner, if I remember correctly," Morgan answers.

"That's correct, but you've missed a very important detail in that explanation," Shizu asserts. "The meeting went on for several hours after dinner ended. These sleeping pills are strong enough for a single pill to knock you out for about four hours, if the label is to be believed."

"Four hours? But that's about the time that people starting leaving the lounge after we first left dinner," says Kaixi. "Wouldn't we have experienced the effects sooner than that?"

Kogi's eyes widen. "You mean you didn't eat dinner around the same time? I could have sworn you all had a late dinner."

"That is not the case… I am afraid," Pal intones. "Dinner ended… around 7 PM. I believe that Tsubame… stayed until 11:30 PM, if I… remember her words… from the investigation."

Michio confirms this. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Kaixi and I, as you all know, stayed even later. If any of us got drugged, it would have been you, Pal, since you left right away."

"Even if that were… the case… I do not think that… the culprit could have done much… with such a minimal result." Scratching his chin, Pal finishes by saying, "Perhaps we were… merely fooling ourselves… do to a lack of knowledge."

Kogi exhales softly. "Huh. Guess that's what I get for getting lost in my own world while investigating. My bad. This is a dead end."

"Man, you're really just giving up on these ideas, aren't you? Don't you have any kind of commitment?" Soraru challenges. Kaixi doesn't even bother to acknowledge xer comment.

"Hold on." Samia starts fiddling with her hijab, an uncertain expression on her face. "We've cleared up that the sleeping pills and the poison weren't used in this crime, but why were they moved then? If the culprit didn't use them, then why were they moved in the first place?"

Shizu taps her notepad with a hint of frustration. "I should have figured it out from the moment you mentioned that every single bottle of pills and poison had been moved back to the front. It makes little sense for the culprit to do that ever. It would have given away their methods immediately. So, I can only think of one person here who intentionally try to stir up confusion."

As a few sets of eyes start to converge on Soraru, xe shouts, "Hey! It's not me this time!"

"…Okay, two people," Shizu admits hastily.

Sawako grits her teeth. "Monokuma."

This time, everyone looks up towards the bear. He's relaxing with both feet on his desk and his arms supporting his head. "Aw man, looks like I got called out again. How embarrassing." He pauses for a minute before saying, "For you that is! Seriously, did you really think I would let you hide all of the best ways to kill people? I moved those suckers right back after your pathetic attempts to hide them. You're missing the whole spirit of the game by doing that!"

"You…" Samia cuts herself off before gripping her forehead tightly with one hand. "I can't believe I fell for your trap… I've wasted everyone's time by bringing up the poison and the sleeping pills at all… I can't apologize enough."

Kaixi frantically waves his hands in front of his face. "N-no, it's fine! You've got nothing to apologize for. I mean, we've sort of been mostly wrong this entire time, so we can't really blame you."

Choosing not to make a snarky comment about her own contributions, Shizu decides to say, "It was something you had to bring up. Had we overlooked it if it actually was important, we would have been in dire straits. But for now, we should move past this issue."

Samia doesn't seem entirely convinced. "I still can't believe… No, you're right. I can't waste time on self pity."

"There is still much that is uncertain about this crime. We have much to discuss, even at this point in the trial," Morgan agrees.

Kazuha bites her lip. "But… what else is there to talk about? We can't figure out anything from what happened last night, and we're sure that nothing went wrong during dinner… Where does that leave us?"

"It leaves us with nothing," Chouki grumbles, though there's a slight note of unease in his voice. "We've talked forever, but we're still no closer to knowing who did it. What a waste of time…"

"T-then, we're just s-supposed to give up a-and vote for someone at r-random?" Hachi squeaks.

"No," states Shizu firmly. "That's not it at all. While examining the activities of the previous night will not reveal anything to us at this time, there is another time that we should examine."

While most people look around in confusion, Morgan instead smiles and closes her eyes. "I believe that you are referring to this morning, correct? We have yet to examine what the culprit has done after they left the dining hall."

Shizu narrows her eyes and nods. "That's right."

"Huh? How will that help us?" Kazuha asks. "I thought you said that the culprit would have gotten rid of any evidence that pointed directly to them."

"They could have been in a hurry to escape and left something behind at the last minute," Tsubame guesses.

Kogi shakes his head. "No dice. We would have found something out of place by this point. Either that or we overlooked it, and it doesn't matter anymore."

Chouki grumbles. "Maybe they rushed it back to their room and stayed a while so they wouldn't appear suspicious."

"Or perhaps they were unable to return to their rooms and headed back to the scene of the crime on their own after they heard the announcement," Sawako adds.

Kaixi tilts his head. "So the culprit would be one of the people who arrived last or on their own?"

"We cannot say that for certain," Fumika asserts. "They very well could have slipped into a group with all of the chaos going on. We shouldn't suspect people who showed up later just because of their timing, especially not when we don't know the culprit's timing either."

"You're just saying that because you showed up on your own," Soraru teases.

She spits back, "You also showed up alone."

"Huh? Now, you're accusing me?" Xe flinches backwards.

Pal raises up a finger. "Hold on one second. You mentioned… timing, Fumika."

"…That's right. Do you know something about the timing of the situation?" she asks, her tone dripping with skepticism.

"Know… is a strong word… but I was wondering…" It takes a few moments for Pal to find the correct words, but he eventually gets there. "We have all been… assuming that the culprit… took off the instant… that the dining hall reopened, correct? Or have… I been misunderstanding… the arguments so far?"

"No, you have the basics down," Samia confirms. "Do you have a problem with that?"

He grimaces. "Yes… actually. If that was the case… I believe that… the culprit was acting very… recklessly, which does not… fit their previous… movements."

"Uh… how were they being reckless?" Joshua posits. "I mean, it'd be more reckless to hang around, right? That increases the chances that they'd be caught by someone."

"That is true… but they should have known… or at least thought… that someone was coming," Pal claims. "It would be foolish… to escape… only to run into the hands… of another person."

Kazuha tilts her head. "Huh? Someone? Who would that be?"

It's not that hard to realize what Pal is saying. Shizu's a little bit annoyed at herself for overlooking it. The answer is right there in front of her, and yet she was unable to pick up on how strange it would be for someone not to know. That person is…

* * *

 **Select Someone!**

 **Shizu Saneyoshi**

* * *

"If the culprit really was planning on making their escape the moment the dining hall opened up, they would have almost certainly risked running into me," Shizu says with confidence.

Michio slaps his forehead. "That's right! You and Takumi were always the first ones down here for breakfast! There's no way the culprit would have forgotten about that!"

"They also attempted to fool all of us into thinking Takumi was killed at breakfast," Sawako states. "They did that because they knew his eating habits. It would be strange for them to forget the other person who was always at breakfast first."

"Maybe they thought they could make a break for it before you showed up." Kaixi shrugs his shoulders and tilts his head.

Pursing her lip, Tsubame says, "They were careful enough to hide the time of death from us. I personally don't think that they would leave their plan to chance at this stage of things. For all they knew, Shizu could have been waiting outside of the dining hall before the morning announcement."

"It does seem odd that they would take such a risk…" Morgan mumbles. Then, clearing her throat, she speaks a little louder. "Perhaps there was a way for the culprit to know when Shizu was coming. If they heard her beforehand, they could time their escape better."

Kazuha scratches her chin. "How would they be able to do that? I mean, they could have listened for footsteps, but don't you think that sounds really risky?"

"I can think of a way." Chouki's assertion is bold though his tone is as bored as usual.

"Huh? Really? Don't leave us hanging, man," Joshua urges.

He snorts. "You all already forgot about it? We've already talked about it in the trial. Don't you remember what Shizu said she ran into this morning?"

"You're referring to the cake traps," Shizu states.

Nodding, he replies, "That's right. When you tripped the trap, that cake went falling down on your head. There was a metal platter there too. The hallways let sound echo for a bit. A collision with metal and tile would have definitely made a pretty loud sound. All the culprit would have had to do was wait for the noise and then leave once it sounded."

"Using sound as their alarm…" Michio taps his podium. "In that case, are you saying that the culprit-"

"Is Soraru," he finishes.

Soraru chokes a little. "Huh? Huh? Where did that come from? Are you just mad at me or something?"

"Unlike you, I actually have some modicum of proof when I make accusations," Chouki claims, eyes narrowing. "You've been all for randomly accusing people this entire trial, too. That only makes you more suspicious."

"I did think it was kind of convenient that the cakes were set up on the same day of Takumi's murder," Fumika says. "There wasn't any way to connect them to the crime until now. You're cleverer than you look."

"Thanks for the compliment, but you're totally wrong!" Soraru declares, starting to sweat a little.

Joshua chooses to back xem up on this. "Yeah, I really don't think Soraru's behind this one. I'm literally unable to wrap my head around that."

Playing with his hat awkwardly, Michio responds, "That uh… kind of just means you lack imagination."

"Soraru is a prankster but still…" Hachi moans indecisively. "Pranks and murder are on two totally different levels!"

Could Soraru really have been the one behind it all? This entire line of reasoning is based on those cake traps being used to alert the culprit. Something about that doesn't quite seem right to Shizu. As the discussion grows harsher, she searches for her opening.

* * *

 **Nonstop Debate Start**

 **Chouki:** Soraru is the one behind it all.

 **Soraru:** Hey, you can't just say baseless things like that! So rude!

 **Sawako:** There is evidence that suggests that you were involved with the crime. We know that the culprit _**was hiding in the dining hall this morning**_.

 **Tsubame:** They couldn't leave immediately or else they _**would risk running into Shizu**_.

 **Chouki:** They could have _**set something up ahead of time**_ to alert them to her approach, however.

 **Michio:** By using those cake traps, they were able to know the time when she tripped and fell.

 **Morgan:** All they would have to do then is _**make their escape while Shizu was distracted**_ , and they would be home free.

 **Chouki:** Soraru set them up, so xe's our culprit. Case closed.

 **Joshua:** This feels really hasty, guys… We can't just give up right here!

 **Shizu:** _If Soraru really is the culprit, then there's something off here. Thinking back to the circumstances behind the crime, something is definitely wrong. I just need to find that weak point._

 **Soraru's Account**

 _ **set something up ahead of time**_

 **BREAK**

* * *

"The culprit most certainly must have set up those traps in advance, but that's impossible considering what we know about the crime," Shizu interrupts.

Chouki pouts. "Clearly not. We already know that the cake traps were set up in the first place. There's nothing impossible about it."

"Chouki, please remind me when those traps were set up." Without actually waiting for him to say anything, she answers her own question. "Soraru told us earlier that xe began construction around 3 AM. However, we know that the culprit would have been trapped in the dining hall during that time. This is clearly a contradiction."

Kogi comes in to assist her. "I did laundry last night as well. Even around 11 PM, I didn't see any sign of a trap being set up. Those planks were fairly high on the wall. Someone as short as Soraru would have needed to bring ladders over. I didn't see anything of the sort, though."

"There's no way I'd risk being seen when coming up with my amazing apology prank," Soraru huffs. "I'm clearly innocent in all of this. No murder-accomplice cakes were involved whatsoever."

Shizu internally raises an eyebrow at that statement but finishes her thoughts regardless. "Due to the time when those traps were set up, there isn't any possibility that Soraru could have simultaneously been the culprit and the complete nuisance who pulled off the prank at the same time."

"You're dead wrong!"

"Yeah, tell her Michio! Tell her that I'm not a complete nuisance!" Soraru yells cheerfully.

Michio does a double take. "That's not exactly what I was objecting to. I was going to come up with more reasons not to trust your account."

"Oh." Xe deflates. "In that case, tell him, Shizu! Tell him to shut up!"

"…I was going to do that regardless of whether or not you asked," Shizu declares.

Snapping his fingers, Michio responds, "Hey, there's no need for that kind of doubt, you know. There's a pretty obvious reason that we can't assume anything about when that trap was set up. If you've forgotten, then let me remind you again."

* * *

 **Rebuttal Showdown Start**

 **Michio:** You do realize that Soraru was the one who told us when that trap was set up, right?

 **Michio:** Why on Earth are we trusting anything about what xe's saying, then?

 **Michio:** Xe could have set it up last night.

 **Michio:** Kogi only confirmed that it wasn't there before 11 PM.

 **Michio:** That still leaves an hour to get everything ready before hiding in the closed dining hall.

 **Michio:** You can't trust the suspect to tell you the truth, especially not someone who twists things like Soraru does.

 **Advance**

 **Shizu:** Your timeframe doesn't make any sense.

 **Shizu:** After killing Takumi, do you really think that Soraru would risk everything by running back outside to set everything up?

 **Shizu:** What if xe had been spotted during that time?

 **Shizu:** What if construction took too long and xe missed xer opportunity to get back to xer hiding spot?

 **Michio:** You've got everything backwards there, Shizu.

 **Michio:** That trap could have been set up _**before xe killed Takumi**_.

 **Michio:** I know Soraru pretty damn fast, so don't tell me xe couldn't have done that.

 **Michio:** Once everything was ready, xe went back into the dining hall and _**waited for Takumi**_.

 **Michio:** The strike was on the back of his head, so he must have been taken by surprise…

 **Michio:** Setting up the traps and lying in wait, xe had the perfect opportunity!

 **Shizu:** _These arguments are being made on the fly, so there's bound to be holes in them. Now that I've gotten Michio talking enough, I'm starting to see the cracks. Adding more details only opens more opportunities. Let's finish this._

 **Broken Transparent Wire**

 _ **before xe killed Takumi**_

 **BREAK**

* * *

"If the order of events was what you claim it was," Shizu begins, "then Soraru would have made an unbelievable oversight in xer plans, especially considering xe apparently set up the cake traps as an alarm."

"What exactly are you talking about?" Michio wonders out loud.

"Think about it for more than one minute, and I'm sure you'll realize the problem." Shaking her head, she explains her line of reasoning. "You claim that everything was set up so that I would trip this morning, but that doesn't line up with what you say happened. If Takumi came down after the traps were set up, then he should have been the one to set off the trap. But the wire holding the elevator trap in place was broken this morning when I tripped over it. Therefore, when Takumi went to the dining hall, that trap was not in place."

"Takumi still could have stepped over it," Michio reasons.

Samia denies this claim. "If that was the case, then why would Soraru have used it to track Shizu in the first place? If someone could just easily step over it, then it's a terrible alarm system."

"I don't think that Soraru would have made a mistake like allowing the chance for Takumi to trip in the first place," Kaixi adds. "Xe's way smarter than that."

Soraru fakes a sniff. "Aw… You all think I'm smart. You're the best friends I've ever had!"

"…Yeah, not even going there." Chouki turns to look at anyone but xem.

Michio looks a little downcast. "I see… Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Ugh, sorry about getting everything off track again. I don't really think that we have any reason to doubt Soraru anymore, at least on this topic."

"Eh, that's close enough to a good apology. I'll accept it." Soraru shrugs and gives a little wink.

He raises an eyebrow "…Thanks?"

Sawako chooses to cut this moment short. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we still have a huge problem. Or, rather, we have exactly the same problem we had before. Soraru isn't the responsible for Takumi's murder, but xe was the only one who had a way to know when Shizu would first approach. How did the culprit know when to leave?"

"That is true… Nobody else… would have known about the prank… and thus… could not take advantage of it," Pal says despondently.

Fumika pauses for a moment. "…That's not entire true," she finally claims. "There is one other person here who would have had a pretty good idea of the prank."

"E-eh?" Hachi squeaks. "But I thought Soraru set it all up alone. That's why xe worked so late at night. Plus, even if someone did pitch in and I just forgot, wouldn't they still be unable to get out of the dining hall? Or into the dining hall?"

Pal points out another issue. "I believe that… Soraru would have… mentioned an assistant by this point."

"They may not have explicitly put things into place, but Soraru has already told us that someone lent a hand," Fumika states. "Have you all forgotten already?"

Shizu hasn't. Even if she hadn't heard, it wouldn't be that hard to guess anyways. There's only one answer to this question, but she's not sure she likes the implications of what Fumika means by calling them out.

* * *

 **Select Someone!**

 **Joshua Miller**

* * *

She takes a deep breath before turning towards her target. "Joshua. Earlier, you claimed that you assisted Soraru by going to get the cakes for the trap, correct?"

He seems a little surprised when the focus shifts to him. "Uh… yeah, that's right. I also did the thing with the sheets, but that was kind of its own thing. Sorry, are you still mad about that?"

"…Partially, yes," she admits, feeling a little sheepish. "However, that wasn't exactly the point I was getting at. Technically, Fumika is correct in that you would have some idea of what the prank was."

"Well… uh… I guess kind of," He stumbles a bit on his words, a bit of sweat starting to trickle down his face. "But, wait-"

"You could have also taken advantage of the sound the platter made when it fell," Fumika accuses harshly, cutting off whatever he was about to say.

"W-wait, that's a little-", he attempts to say, but he gets pushed aside once again.

Samia holds out her hand to stop him. "Hold on one second. You went to go get the cakes for the plan? Around what time would that have been?"

It's Kaixi that answers. "Um… I think that he left around 10:30 PM to go talk to Soraru, so probably sometime after that? Maybe a little before 11 PM?"

"That would put him at the scene of the crime right around the time of the murder," Kogi says calmly, although his eyes are full of fire.

Raising a finger nervously, Joshua states, "I don't think I like where this is going…"

Sawako ignores him. "He would have had to go to the freezer to fetch those cakes as well. We believe that the body was stored there, yet he never mentioned seeing it last night. Either the culprit had not struck by that point or…"

"He didn't even come out during the investigation at all either. I mean, I thought it was kind of suspicious before, but I put it aside, because, you know, no leaping to conclusions or anything," Michio asserts. "But, if we're bringing stuff that's kind of off, then I don't think we can ignore that."

Soraru lets out a little laugh. "Aw, c'mon, you're not actually accusing Joshua of being the killer, right? Sure everything that you mentioned makes him totally suspicious in almost every conceivable way, but there's no way he's the one who did it."

"Y-yeah, that!" Joshua points dramatically only to lower his finger a few moments later. "Err… that but with less me being suspicious. Because I'm not."

"I mean, I agree, but you're not really putting your best foot forwards here…" Hachi mumbles, clutching her forearm in a tight, nervous grip.

He grips his beanie tightly as well. "What do you want me to say? It's literally all just a bunch of extremely unfortunate coincidences! Sure, I helped out with the prank, but I didn't kill anyone!"

Tsubame somehow looks even more uncomfortable than he does. "But you're the only other person who could have contextualized the sound of Shizu tripping the prank. I'm sorry to say, but, right now, we have no other suspects."

"Y-you haven't really been helping us out much with this trial either…" Kazuha nearly whispers, her eyes starting to tear up a little.

Chouki glares harshly. "Was that your plan? Try to distract us all with a bunch of random non-sequiturs until we lose track of what we were talking about?"

"N-no! You guys are seriously barking up the wrong tree over here!" Joshua shouts back. "What happened to not accusing people out of nowhere?"

"We've solved most of the details of the crime," Michio replies grimly. "We're right on the cusp of finally pinning down the killer, and you're looking like our best bet."

As Joshua hunching over and sweating buckets, Shizu pauses in her thoughts. Right now, a lot of the evidence is lining up to make him look incredibly suspicious. So why does something still not feel right? Can she just not imagine him as being a killer? If so, she needs to abandon that line of thinking immediately. But, there is a chance that something just isn't right here… Which one is it?

* * *

 **Nonstop Debate Start**

 **Joshua:** I'm telling you all that I'm not the killer!

 **Fumika:** You've given us no actual reasons to trust you aside from appeal to your character.

 **Soraru:** C'mon, it's not like you have much on him anyways. You don't have to super interrogate him like everyone else. He's kind of a delicate snowflake.

 **Kogi:** He admitted to helping you with your prank by getting cakes. He was _**at the crime scene at the time of death**_.

 **Sawako:** In addition to this, he claims he _**did not see the body either**_.

 **Joshua:** Maybe he _got killed later_? How is any of this my fault?

 **Kazuha:** Since he helped out with the prank, he _**could have used the details he knew**_ to his advantage.

 **Joshua:** Look, anyone could have heard that sound and then scattered whether they knew what it was or not!

 **Samia:** They _**wouldn't have the context**_ for what that sound was.

 **Chouki:** If they didn't know, they wouldn't risk leaving to find out and be found out.

 **Michio:** They _**wouldn't have been able to plan**_ for the sound happening either.

 **Fumika:** There's _**nobody else here**_ who fits the criteria we need.

 **Joshua:** Ugh… This is incredibly not good!

 **Shizu:** _Everything seems to be holding up well… But there is one point in here that sticks out. Joshua is smarter than he gives himself credit for, so this plan is almost within his ability to pull off. But, no matter how smart you are, some things are just impossible…_

 **Soraru's Account**

 _ **could have used the details he knew**_

 **BREAK**

* * *

Snapping her fingers, Shizu calls for the discussion to halt. By this point, people have thankfully gotten used to her having something smart to say, at least if she's interpreting everyone's gazes correctly. "You're all seemingly under the impression that Joshua knows more than he actually does."

"Wow, that's the first time I've ever heard that one," Joshua deadpans, though his humor seems to be coming from his anxiousness. Sweat is still pouring down his forehead.

Soraru backs Shizu up with an actual point. "Yeah! You all keep saying that he knew all about my prank, but that's not true at all. All I asked him to do was bring me some cakes because I was hungry!"

"But… was that not a lie?" Pal asks. "…Wait… more importantly… was Joshua not able… to piece together the prank… on his own? After all… he claimed to add on to… the prank… with his laundry stunt."

"Yeah, but that's all, just like, speculation and stuff," Soraru claims. "He couldn't have magically divined everything just by having some idea of what happened."

Morgan clears her throat. "Indeed. I believe that I am the only one here with that ability."

"He knew enough to know you were going to drop a cake on someone," Michio points out. "That's pretty much all that he needs to pull this off."

"No," Shizu denies. "There is still an important part that he was not aware of."

* * *

 **Which part of the cake prank was Joshua ignorant of that would affect his ability to take advantage of it?**

A. Who the target was

B. When the trap would be triggered

 **C. Where the trap would be placed**

* * *

"We know that Soraru set up the prank around 3 AM. If Joshua really was the culprit, he would not have been able to watch xer actually put it together, correct?" When she receives several nods, she continues. "In that case, he would not have seen where xe set everything up. He would have had no idea that the cakes would be placed on the second floor, let alone in the elevator lobby."

"Oh!" Kaixi stands up straighter. "I get it! There was a chance that the sound of falling cake would be too far away for him to hear!"

"I don't think there'd be any reason for him to figure that part out," Hachi asserts. "Yeah! He's gotta be innocent."

"But he would have known that everyone came down to breakfast, right?" Samia reasons. "The place that would catch the most people would have been on the second floor elevator lobby. It's not that hard to figure out."

Morgan shakes her head. "Actually, setting it up inside the dining hall or kitchen would have gotten a wider range of targets."

Chouki fires back with his own retort. "But the dining hall's off limits at night. If he was the culprit, he would have known that Soraru never showed up."

"How would I have known that before I killed Takumi?' asks Joshua, who looks pretty exasperated by all of the arguments. "If the culprit thought Soraru was going to be there, then they never would have gone through with their plan in the first place."

"Whatever the case, Joshua would either not have known what the sound was or would not have been able to anticipate it. There is no way that he could have made sure he was safe when he theoretically left the dining hall." Shizu slams her fist onto her podium decisively.

He nods rapidly. "Yeah, see? I told you I was innocent!"

"I also told them," Soraru pipes up cheerfully.

Snapping his fingers, Kogi speaks over them. "We haven't decided that yet. There's still a lot about what you've done that's suspicious."

"Ugh, really?" Joshua slouches over, eyes unfocused.

"You were the only person not present for the investigation. That is highly suspicious," Kogi claims.

He tilts his head and plays with his beanie. "Wait, what's wrong with that? I didn't hear any announcements until the one yelling at me to join the trial. Of course I didn't show up."

Ignoring him, Kogi explains, "If the culprit was not able to be sure of Shizu's approach, we can only assume that they continued to hide inside the dining hall until the coast was clear. However, because three people discovered the body, the announcement played, and they were forced to continue hiding. Joshua is the only person who fits that description."

"H-hold on a sec. We turned the building upside down looking for evidence, especially the areas right around the crime scene. How would he have remained hidden? We would have found him right away!" Kaixi yells.

"Y-yeah, what he said," Joshua says lamely.

Shizu bites her lip. "That's… not entirely true. There is one place that I believe that nobody thoroughly investigated. He could have technically hid there…"

He bemoans his misfortune. "Not you too, Shizu…"

* * *

 **Freezer Container**

* * *

"I know that, personally, I was unable to investigate what was inside of the container at the back of the freezer. Theoretically, he could have hidden there without being detected, so long as nobody else checked that location." She's still not convinced, but there's no sense in hiding possibilities.

Fumika looks annoyed with herself. "I spent most of my time checking out the pantry. I never had the chance to look there."

"Hachi and I were in the kitchen the whole time. We didn't look there either," Kazuha says.

Likewise, Pal sighs and explains his actions. "Tsubame, Kogi, and I… were all in the elevator lobby… looking over the mess that had… been made by the cakes."

"I just rang Joshua's doorbell until the time limit ran out," Soraru claims.

"So, none of us were guided towards the freezer except for Shizu." Morgan contemplates this fact. "That is most unfortunate. We cannot guarantee that Joshua was not hiding in there. The container is certainly large enough and filled with enough desserts to hide someone from view."

"I don't know if he'd be alright after hiding in there for so long," Michio replies. "Body temperature dropping is a serious problem. Takumi's cause of death speaks for itself."

Shaking her head, Samia claims, "However, when Joshua first appeared, he was wet. If he really hid in the freezer, he would have had a little bit of ice on his body. Due to Monokuma's announcement, he wouldn't have had time to dry himself off before coming."

"So the ice defrosted on his body… It makes an unfortunate amount of sense." Still, Tsubame tugs on her braid as nervousness sets in.

Gaping openly, Joshua shouts, "C-come on! This is seriously all a series of awful coincidences, y'know? I'm a criminal because I overslept and took a cold shower?"

"This isn't exactly a court of law," Chouki spits out. "We don't even have a defendant. Circumstantial evidence or not, it's the only thing that fits."

"Yeah, that's not making me feel any better," he complains.

Sawako puts forth another option. "Perhaps confessing your crime would help with your conscience."

"Hey, you all get on my case about lying, so don't tell him to lie! You're really hurting my feelings here." Soraru shakes xer fist in mock fury.

As Kogi turns towards xem, he says, "If you actually want to help him, you should keep quiet. We can't trust much of what you say."

Xe glares back. "That sounds like a you problem."

"And it's turning into a me and soon to be everyone else problem…" Joshua groans.

At the rate this discussion is going, Joshua is going to be voted as guilty within a matter of moments. He's looking more and more suspicious by the second. She needs to keep an open mind about this still. He's at the point where he'll either slip up or something else will come up.

* * *

 **Nonstop Debate**

 **Samia:** Even if Joshua didn't respond to Shizu tripping, that doesn't prove that he wasn't the culprit.

 **Morgan:** If the culprit did not use the sound as an alarm, they would _**not have been confident enough to leave**_.

 **Samia:** In that case, he stayed in the dining hall for the entire investigation.

 **Michio:** Joshua _**never showed up**_ at all, so I can't deny that possibility.

 **Fumika:** None of us checked the freezer as well, so he could have been _**hiding in the container**_ the entire time.

 **Joshua:** C'mon, that sounds too risky on multiple fronts! Isn't it more likely that I was just _**in my room**_?

 **Pal:** But you did not… respond to any of the announcements… which implies you had a reason… for not emerging from your den.

 **Chouki:** Once everyone got called to the elevator lobby, you _**finally came out of hiding**_.

 **Kogi:** The dripping water on his body indicates that he _**was defrosting**_ as well.

 **Kazuha:** I'm sorry, but it's too much to be a coincidence at this point…

 **Joshua:** No it's not! I'm _**being framed by nature**_ itself, I tell you!

 **Shizu:** _The crux of the argument is that Joshua never came out from hiding in the freezer container after the body was discovered. If I think about it that way, then there's definitely something strange._

 **Sheets in the Washing Machine**

 _ **finally came out of hiding**_

 **BREAK**

* * *

Shizu shouts over Joshua's horrible defense. "You're all overlooking the fact that we have evidence that Joshua left the dining hall."

Kogi crosses his arms. "Nobody saw him though. Or are you going to say that you did see him and only remembered now?"

"Isn't it a little late to pull that card?" inquires Fumika.

"Yes, it would, which is why I'm not doing that." Do they really think so little of her that they expect her to lie? "I'm talking about how we know that Joshua went to the laundry room earlier in the morning."

Morgan assists her. "Indeed. We found his sheets inside the washing machines during our investigation. According to Shizu, the timer was around twenty minutes when she heard the body discovery announcement. If that was the case, then he must have left them there."

Standing up to his full height, Joshua announces, "Y-yeah, that's right! I put those sheets in there around 6:40 AM. That's way earlier than the when the dining hall opens!"

Kaixi snaps his fingers. "In that case, there's no way he could have been in hiding!"

"Why did you not… mention this sooner?" Pal asks, looking a little annoyed.

Puffing out xer cheeks, Soraru complains, "He did. Who do you think told us about the sheets in the first place? It's like you're all purposefully not paying attention or something."

"Nobody else said anything about the sheets either, so we can take his word about this. I'm pretty sure about that, at least," says Michio.

Hachi cheers, raising her hands in the air. "Yay! Joshua totally couldn't have been in the dining hall after all."

"So, am I finally off the hook then?" Joshua is starting to look a little bit hopeful.

"It's not that simple!"

"Why?!" He yells to the ceiling in agony as Samia makes her declaration.

She glares at him. "I didn't buy the fact that you couldn't piece together enough of the prank before, and I'm still certain you were able to sneak those towels into the washing machines."

The amount of interruptions is starting to raise Shizu's anger again. "Okay, I'll bite. How would he have accomplished such a thing, and, if he could, why would he even do something like that?"

"Don't worry. I plan on doing exactly that." She takes a deep breath. "As long as the possibility is there, I can't ignore it. I'm sure you feel the same way, right?"

"So long as that possibility makes sense, that is. The impossible is just that," Shizu retorts.

Samia gazes right back. "Then, I'll just have to show you why it makes sense."

"You have the floor." Shizu adjusts her glasses, the light reflecting back harshly. "Let's do this."

* * *

 **Rebuttal Showdown Start**

 **Samia:** You claim that Joshua could not have put those sheets in the washing machines due to the time on the display.

 **Samia:** However, surely you must have noticed the different settings on them.

 **Samia:** He claims he put them in at 6:40 AM and set it for two hours.

 **Samia:** But he could have just as easily put them in around 8:10 AM after he left the dining hall.

 **Samia:** The thirty minute cycle would line up exactly right for this to happen.

 **Samia:** I don't buy that he couldn't have figured out the prank, so, if that's your only problem, I won't back down.

 **Advance**

 **Shizu:** Your explanation leaves a huge discrepancy in Joshua's actions.

 **Shizu:** We just claimed that he was inside the dining hall because he did not hear the sound of the cake falling.

 **Shizu:** Yet you are now claiming that he left the crime scene, put his sheets in away, and still refused to join in the investigation.

 **Shizu:** This would only make him more suspicious.

 **Samia:** That's only true unless you consider the fact that he could have gone back into his freezer hiding spot after going to the laundry room.

 **Samia:** We only assumed that he used the trap to escape, but he could have easily used it to hide his true actions.

 **Samia:** Perhaps he didn't feel confident in his _**ability to feign his innocence**_ , so he remained where he was.

 **Samia:** He surely would have come out if he was in his room due to Soraru's constant ringing.

 **Samia:** It also gave him an extra chance to _**dispose of extra evidence**_ , like Takumi's bag.

 **Samia:** Joshua could have planned all of this ahead of time!

 **Shizu:** _This set of actions is incredibly complex. Occam's razor should definitely apply here. But, when Joshua is the only suspect we have, then I guess people get desperate. With such flimsy reasoning, there's certainly a problem._

 **Red Towels**

 _ **dispose of extra evidence**_

 **BREAK**

* * *

"Hold on. You're claiming Joshua could have disposed of evidence but chose not to take care of the towels when he went directly to the laundry room?" Shizu's tone may sound confused at this line of reasoning, but it only strengths her resolve that it's absurd. "Why would he have missed such a golden opportunity?"

"Those towels wiped up some of the blood, correct?" Samia's question is rhetorical as she moves past it quickly. "He might have been worried that they wouldn't have been totally finished washing in the short cycle."

"If that was the case, then why would he not have just chosen a longer cycle? Not only would it wash them better, but it might have lasted long enough for us to not be able to check what was inside." Shizu taps her pen furiously against the page. "This argument makes no sense."

Fumika responds with equal frustration. "Longer cycles would have given away the exact time he put the sheets in. He already went through the trouble of hiding the towels as well. He could have simply not wanted to risk drawing attention to that area."

Hachi timidly speaks up. "B-but he should have been aware of what to do since it w-was his plan. I really don't think he'd forget about w-what to do with the t-towels…"

"Also, wouldn't he have put the plastic bag in a safer place than the trash if he was going to dispose of evidence?" Kaixi asks. "Erm… not to say that your idea was bad or anything…"

Chouki scoffs. "He's not the brightest guy out there. He could have totally just forgotten."

"Hey, he would have had to set it all up in the morning. How little of an attention span do you think he has?"Soraru chides.

"Early mornings and Joshua have not historically worked well together," Sawako replies.

Kogi agrees. "Some people have issues functioning when they first wake up. That may be doubly true if they just committed a murder."

"However, the amount of mistakes appears to be too great for us to simply hand wave them. We cannot simultaneously treat Joshua as someone who can predict Soraru's every action while also being unable to clean up the crime he prepared." Morgan's declaration rings throughout the courtroom.

Shaking his fist, Joshua shouts, "Yeah, don't pull that doublethink stuff on me!"

"But you forgetting things would unfortunately explain your absence in the investigation," Tsubame reluctantly mumbles.

Kazuha nods sadly. "Yeah. You could have been planning on leaving but realized you forgot to hide something after you left."

"Then, in a rush, you would have hurried back to the crime scene to fix your mistake. Only it would be your undoing when Sawako, Michio, and Hachi showed up sooner than you expected." Samia's hands are clenched into fists.

"We totally would've seen him though!" Hachi yells back.

Sawako gives her a disappointed look. "Not if he ducked back into the freezer and hid in the container. We already talked about this, remember?"

"I know but…" She trails off pitifully.

Michio steps up to bat, looking incredibly unsure of himself. "I mean, it's true that he could have done that. But it's in my professional opinion that he would have risked seriously hurting himself if he hid in the freezer for the entire investigation. It seems very unlikely."

"Ooh, sorry Sawako, but you've been outvoted," Soraru cheers. "Two to one, the body discoverers have decided. Joshua's definitely innocent!"

"That is not even close… to how this works," Pal explains

Chouki also replies, "Michio didn't even think of the freezer during his autopsy. Why should we trust his opinion on it at this juncture?"

"My autopsy has literally survived all of the scrutiny this entire trial," Michio yells back. "You've all looked at it under a microscope, and you still couldn't find anything wrong with it. Don't you dare start that back up again!"

"But if he wasn't in the freezer, where else could he have been?" Kazuha asks.

Joshua looks exasperated. "Uh… how about my room? You know, the place I've literally been saying this entire time?"

"You slept through doorbell assault and several announcements from Monokuma?" Fumika doesn't look impressed by this.

"I'm a deep sleeper!" he shouts back desperately.

Shizu taps her notepad thoughtfully. "There is definitely a precedent for something like this."

* * *

 **Character Profiles (Joshua)**

* * *

"If you all recall correctly, he has had a history of sleeping through important events. He missed the first morning meeting and was late to almost every subsequent one. He even was late to the meeting where Monokuma explained the rules of the game to us. I'm inclined to believe in him, especially given that he would have stayed up late to add to Soraru's prank."

"That means nothing," Fumika says, sharpening her glare. "He could have simply taken advantage of our pattern recognition and pretended to be asleep."

Chouki goes one step further than that. "Or he could have been planning this all along and faked his sleep problems to begin with."

"Before he was even aware of what the rules were?" Morgan raises an eyebrow

Kaixi calls out in agreement. "This is a huge stretch!"

"But… when we have no other culprit… what would you have us do?" Pal questions him. "We have thoroughly… examined many of our number… but they have all been cleared. We cannot… run away from accusing someone… forever, lest we… lose our own lives."

"There's a lot of stuff that's suspicious about Joshua. It can't all be up to sheer coincidences." Kogi lists off several points. "He's the only one who never showed up, he was in the dining hall around the time Takumi was killed, and he had the knowledge to pull it off."

"You keep shifting around your arguments to fit this accusation," Shizu criticizes. "Each may be true individually, but, whenever we attempt to pull them all together, several holes appear."

"Then maybe we just need to find the right combination," Chouki deadpans.

Soraru has another option. "Or maybe there's no right combination, and you're all stupid!"

"Or maybe your friendship with him is blinding you to the truth." Immediately after she says this, Sawako clamps her hands over her mouth and looks extremely apologetic.

"But it's like you've all already decided that he's definitely guilty." Pressing her fingers together, Hachi looks at the floor. "We've been trying to counter your stuff, but you're not listening at all."

Fidgeting in place, Tsubame whispers, "Being unsatisfied with an explanation isn't the same thing as refusing to listen, I'm afraid."

"Besides, by that logic… you have all done the same… as us… but in reverse. Instead of guilty… you cannot picture Joshua… as anything but innocent… no matter what people say." Pal digs his nails into his podium as he clutches it tightly.

Fumika groans. "This is pointless. We're not getting anywhere at all. It's like you both said. We've already picked our sides. We're all too stubborn to change our minds."

"Should… should we just vote then?" Kazuha meekly asks.

"No way! We don't have enough information yet!" Kaixi shrieks.

"The other group doesn't have a target yet," Sawako asserts. "If we were to vote now, then Joshua would be found guilty because they are unified around someone they suspect is innocent. It would not be fair."

Joshua reluctantly raises his voice. "So, what should we do then? We're locked at a standstill."

"We need to discuss more." The answer is obvious to Shizu, and it leaves her mouth instantly.

"Huh? B-but we just said none of us were gonna change our minds…" Hachi shivers in place.

Shizu shakes her head. "It's true we've gotten nowhere with traditional discussion. However, if we change things up, we might be able to finally reach a conclusion."

Kogi actually looks a little interested. "Change things up? How so?"

"Everyone here has a firm opinion on whether or not Joshua is the culprit. You all have arguments in mind, but, so far, we've been reduced to shouting back and forth with little coherency. If we can structure this as a formal debate, with arguments and rebuttals, we may very well convince each other of our cases." She adjusts her glasses as she finishes speaking.

"I see…" Sawako scratches her cheek. "I believe that your suggestion is worth a shot."

Chouki traces the tattoos of his veins and refuses to look at anyone. "It's not like we'd be better off doing nothing at all. Why the hell not?"

Morgan smiles. "It appears that our conflict is fated to occur. Let us follow through with this course of action."

"I'm all for it, but, uh… how exactly are we going to do this? It might be a little hard when we're all mixed up like this…" Kaixi rubs the back of his head awkwardly.

"You can leave that to me!"

Momokuma's voice startles everyone. He had been pretty quiet for most of the proceedings, and, in their haste, they had almost forgotten he was there. He grins down at them and elaborates. "I had a feeling something like this might happen, so I took to liberty of modifying these podiums a little."

"What do you mean by modifying?" Samia narrows her eyes.

"Oh, don't worry about that." He laughs her off. "Just keep your footing and you should all be fine."

Joshua gulps. "That's uh… that's not exactly all that encouraging."

His words are cut off as a rumbling sound echoes throughout the courtroom. One by one, their podiums begin to rise off of the floor. Shizu stumbles a little as the movement catches her off guard. Luckily, they're only hovering a few inches above the ground. They begin to align themselves into two lines, and she comes face to face with the opposing team. She steels her nerves and prepares to argue.

* * *

 **Is Joshua the culprit?**

 **He's the culprit:** Kogi, Fumika, Samia, Tsubame, Kazuha, Sawako, Pal, Chouki

 **He's not the culprit:** Shizu, Joshua, Soraru, Hachi, Morgan, Kaixi, Michio

 **Scrum Debate Start**

 **Kogi:** Joshua was at the _scene of the crime_ last night. He's the only person we know who was there.

 **Shizu:** He only went to the _scene of the crime_ because Soraru asked. He never planned on being there.

 **Samia:** We don't know that for certain. He could have incorporated Soraru's _prank_ into his plans once he learned about it.

 **Soraru:** I didn't even tell him about my _prank_! He'd have no way of knowing what was going on.

 **Pal:** Joshua is smarter… than he claims to be. He successfully used the _washing machines_ … to exploit our sense of time.

 **Kaixi:** But, if he used the _washing machines_ , he wouldn't have been able to hide in the dining hall.

 **Sawako:** Due to the settings on those washing machines, he _obscured_ everything we knew about the situation. We can't trust the words of a suspect.

 **Morgan:** If Joshua truly tried to have _obscured_ everything, then why would he have told us that he placed those sheets there? We would have been lost without it.

 **Kazuha:** But he doesn't have an _alibi_ for that time, right? S-so he must have been hiding there.

 **Hachi:** His _alibi_ was that he was in his room. We would have totally found him if he was anywhere else!

 **Fumika:** He could have hid away in the _freezer_ , and that's why he wasn't around for the investigation.

 **Michio:** If he hid in the _freezer_ , he could have caught hypothermia or even been frozen to death. Y'know, like what with happened to Takumi?

 **Tsubame:** Joshua was dripping wet when we found him… There are too many _coincidences_ for us to ignore.

 **Joshua:** Even with all of these _coincidences_ lining up perfectly, all of your arguments still have a ton of holes. So enough already!

 **Chouki:** So what? He's the only option we have for a _culprit_. Why do you all keep arguing?

 **Shizu:** No, there's another _culprit_ in this case. This line of thinking has only trapped us into faulty conclusions.

 **Full Counter!**

 **Joshua is not the culprit!**

* * *

With Shizu's final declaration, the podiums begin to shift back to their original positions. Most of the people who were arguing to vote for Joshua are starting to look slightly more unsure of themselves. Tsubame in particular looks horrified. "When I hear everything back to back like that… the coincidences start to melt into their true forms… We were so caught up in wanting to have this trial over with that we convinced ourselves of the truth."

"That's what we've been saying this whole time!" Hachi shouts.

Kaixi presses his thumbs together nervously. "S-so, does that mean that you're all going to stop accusing Joshua?"

Sawako lets out a deep sigh. "You seemed pretty convinced that you had a culprit, Shizu. If there's someone here that's more suspicious than Joshua, then I'm finally ready to listen."

"Hold on. If you think you know who it is, then why didn't you say something sooner?" Chouki asks.

Shizu adjusts her glasses. "I'm on the verge of figuring it out, but I need a little more time."

"What the hell?!" he yells back. "Then why did you say that in the first place if you're going to give up that easily?"

"You misunderstand me." Shaking her head, she explains, "Did you all notice how you all continued to suspect Joshua even after we cleared up that he couldn't have known where Soraru's trap was? Even afterwards, you brushed that aside and found another reason to blame him. Then, when that reason failed, you transitioned seamlessly back to thinking he knew about the prank."

"It was a little like being on the receiving end of a conspiracy theory," Joshua mumbles, gripping onto his beanie with one hand. "You supported your theory with theories, and, when one got dismissed, you replaced it with another theory… It's kind of alarming."

"Then what actually happened?" Samia inquires. "Joshua was the only person who didn't show up for the investigation, and he was the only one who knew about the prank. Where does that leave us?"

Shizu looks at the floor and closes her eyes. "I believe you were all right about one thing. The culprit was definitely waiting for me to arrive."

Michio clicks his tongue. "Hang on. If that's the case, then how would they know when you got there? They couldn't have used the sound from the hallway since they had no context for it. Did they just wait for you to waltz in there or something?"

"That was what I was thinking, yes." Seeing his befuddled expression, she elaborates. "They waited for me to come into the dining hall and see Takumi's body. In the panic, it's almost certain that, after a brief moment of hesitation, I would have run out to fetch everyone else. Once I left running, they would have had the opportunity to sneak out."

Pal looks confused. "But that did not happen. You were… delayed by the cake trap. They could not have… gotten away… if they waited for you."

Fumika appears to have picked up on what Shizu is implying, judging by the way her eyes are lighting up. "…No way. You're not suggesting that that actually happened, right?"

"I am indeed suggesting that," Shizu says with conviction.

Joshua raises a hand. "Uh, hi, I'm lost again now that I'm no longer the subject of attention."

"The culprit never left the dining hall at all until after the body was discovered." Fumika pinches her forehead. "Because Shizu never showed up, they were waiting there in vain. They couldn't risk running out when she could pop up at any moment. Hell, she could have even been waiting outside the doors for whatever reason, and they would have been caught if they tried to flee."

Soraru blows a raspberry. "No way! Cause, if that was the case, then they would've been missing when Monokuma showed up. But, when I got there, pretty much everyone was there already, and I saw the stragglers run in afterwards."

"In that case, we only need to ask the question of when they left their hiding spot." Morgan chooses to answer this. "I'm certain that there was a lot of panic going around when everyone first saw Takumi's corpse. It was a bloody spectacle. During that chaos, it might have been possible…"

Gritting her teeth, Sawako slams her fist into the podium with a loud crash. "They used our concern as a smokescreen to rejoin the group!"

"Y-you can't be serious!" Kazuha yells, flinching back.

Chouki crosses his arms. "Even if you were serious, so what? There's no way that anyone would have remembered seeing someone coming out of the kitchen. They would have brought it up by now. We've got no clues on who could have done that."

…No, that's not actually true. As Shizu desperately thinks, several things stand out to her. The culprit would have had to come to the dining hall alone. If they had been in a group, then they would have already been outside of the dining hall to begin with. They would have also been trapped in there overnight, meaning they would have no knowledge of things that had happened that morning. She's also been ignoring the fact that they would have had to have known Takumi's eating habits to pull off their crime. If they didn't know he ate late at night, then they couldn't have been waiting for him.

Slowly, but surely, the picture paints itself. The suspects begin thinning out as she looks over her notes. Words that seemed innocuous at the time come rushing back to her like a tidal wave. She recalls standing over Takumi's body, unable to think anything other than primal thoughts of denial. In that instant, she raises her head, and the answer comes to her. Could her mind possibly be fooling itself?

No, now isn't the time for indecisiveness. Not now that she's considered everything. The light reflects off her glasses intensely. Her words fill the void in the room, and everyone is silent. "There is one person. I don't know if they're the culprit, but they're definitely suspicious."

Hachi looks on in awe. "S-seriously? So soon?"

"Hurry up and tell us then," Michio implores. "You're leaving us all in suspense here."

If she speaks up, she may as well be condemning them to death. But there's no turning back now. She takes one last deep breath before addressing her suspect.

* * *

 **Select Someone**

 **Kazuha Kimura**

* * *

"Kazuha."

At the sound of her name, she tenses up and sharply inhales. "H-huh? W-what is it, Shizu?"

"You're the person that I find the most suspicious," Shizu says as quickly as possible.

Hachi grips her cheeks and screams, "What?!"

Likewise, Kazuha shouts, "W-what are you talking about?! I don't understand at all!"

"How is Kazuha the culprit? You're just joking, right?" Kaixi calls out, looking incredibly nervous.

Shizu pushes her glasses up on her nose. "Do you think I'm the type of person who jokes around? No, I'm completely serious. Kazuha is my number one suspect."

"Shizu, please explain why that is," Samia demands. "There have been many suspicious people here, but I would not have counted Kazuha as one of them. What exactly makes you think that she killed Takumi?"

"She knew exactly when Takumi would eat dinner," she begins. "Don't try to deny it either. I took notes on this. He yelled at both you and Hachi a few nights ago. I'm certain you would remember the contents of that rant and would be able to exploit that for your crime."

"That's the only reason? Plenty of people could have figured that out," Kazuha argues, sweat starting to drip down her forehead.

She shakes her head. "There's more. Out of everyone here, there are only a few could have successfully sneaked into the dining hall from the kitchen. Those are the people who arrived by themselves. Everyone one would have had an alibi, as they were seen outside to begin with."

"Hold on. Kazuha was not the only person who arrived alone. If I remember correctly, Kogi, Soraru, Morgan, and Fumika all came alone as well. Why are you singling her out?" Tsubame fidgets in place as she speaks.

"Because I saw her."

"What do you mean by that?" Fumika glares.

Shizu elaborates. "I've only just remembered this now, but it's a vital clue. When I was looking at Takumi's body while most people were screaming, I heard a set of doors open. When I looked up, I saw Kazuha running towards me. However, I was facing towards the kitchen, blocking the body from everyone else's view. There's only one explanation there."

Michio nods grimly. "She must have come running out of the kitchen. It's the only other door."

"Wait though!" Kaixi yells. "What if you're just misremembering things?! You said it yourself. You just remembered that now."

"Y-yeah!" Kazuha agrees quickly. "I swear I ran in through the dining hall entrance. You've gotta be mixing things up!"

"Oh really? Then why didn't you remember seeing the results of the cake traps?" Shizu points towards her in accusation.

"I love my cakes as much as the next person, but why would she have known anything about them?" Soraru asks, tilting xer head. "I mean, I thought the reason you jerks all yelled at Joshua was because he was the only one who knew about them or something like that."

"That isn't what I mean," she denies. "Think back to this morning. I was the first person on the second floor, so that's why I tripped the wire. However, everyone after that should have been aware of the mess in the elevator lobby. There's no way for anyone to avoid it, especially not if they have to, say, take the elevator down from the fourth floor."

Kogi suddenly looks very serious. "So, that's what you're getting at. When Kazuha walked into the elevator lobby after the investigation was over, she seemed really confused about the cakes scattered everywhere."

"I remember her shouting too," Chouki claims as he turns to scrutinize her. "She asked what the mess was, like she had never seen it before in her life."

"And she should have… already known it was there…" Pal muses darkly.

Kazuha waves her hands out in front of her. "Please wait! You're making a huge mistake. N-none of this is proof that I did it! You can't just use your memories to force me to be g-guilty! What if you're not remembering things right?"

"Do you really think this many of us are getting things wrong? We all heard what you said. You should have been aware of the mess beforehand." Kogi crosses his arms.

Hachi counters this. "B-but Shizu is the only one who saw the most decisive evidence. It just d-doesn't feel right to convict poor Kazuha with that…"

Joshua agrees. "Uh, yeah. Speaking as someone who was recently yelled at a bunch, being suspected is not fun. We should at least give her a chance to argue her case, right?"

"Argue what though?" Kazuha wails.

Michio leans on his podium. "So far, we know that you knew when Takumi would be at dinner and that you said something that insinuated you didn't know about the mess on the second floor. We just need you to explain why those aren't an issue and why you couldn't have done it."

"I apologize for having the spotlight on you, but we would appreciate hearing your side of the story on this one. Shizu claims that she saw you walking out of the kitchen. This is your opportunity to clear up all doubts," Morgan tells her with a calm tone.

Kazuha gulps, opens her mouth, and then gulps again. "Al-alright… I'll try. You'll all s-see that you're j-just imagining things!"

Holding her notepad up a little higher, Shizu vehemently disagrees. It took some time, but she's sure of what she remembers. Even if this isn't an actual court, she supposes that her memory alone isn't going to be enough of a conviction point. Kazuha has a lot of room to argue. All Shizu needs to do now is catch a single-slip up and pounce on it.

* * *

 **Nonstop Debate**

 **Kazuha:** There's n-no way I'm the killer!

 **Sawako:** However, Shizu has laid out a decent foundation and believes that _her memory is decisive evidence_.

 **Kogi:** You've also slipped up once before by revealing you never saw the mess left by Soraru's cakes.

 **Kazuha:** You're wrong about that! I meant s-something completely different.

 **Joshua:** Uh… What was that exactly?

 **Kazuha:** I w-was talking about the _**c-cause of the mess**_ , of course! Y-you're just misinterpreting my w-words!

 **Kaixi:** There's no way she would have known about that! I don't think she's lying!

 **Chouki:** Then what about your knowledge of Takumi? You knew where he'd be and when he'd be there!

 **Kazuha:** Y-yeah, but that d-doesn't mean I _**had the opportunity**_ to do anything like that!

 **Tsubame:** There may have been _**others who knew**_ of Takumi's habits as well, whom Shizu was not aware of.

 **Morgan:** Though I find her suspicious, I must admit that I have not seen _**any decisive clue**_ out of this testimony.

 **Kazuha:** Then you all think I'm innocent, right?!

 **Shizu:** _It's true that, from everyone else's point of view, my accusation appears to be a bit lacking. However, so is Kazuha's defense. I can feel the end of this trial approaching. I know that I can end this._

 **Alibis**

 _ **had the opportunity**_

 **BREAK**

* * *

After double checking to make sure she's correct on this, Shizu's voice breaks through the discussion once more. "You claim that you never had an opportunity to kill Takumi, but that's not true at all. By your own word, you had the perfect time to do so?"

"Are you talking about what she did yesterday?" Michio asks.

"I thought that Kazuha was in that little meetup of yours last night," Fumika states bluntly.

Michio snaps his fingers suddenly. "Oh, that's right. She left just a little bit before midnight. That's right before the dining hall closes!"

Nodding slowly, Pal says, "A little before midnight… may have given her… enough time to reach the dining hall… before it closed. Then, she could have… caught Takumi unaware… by her sudden appearance."

"It could explain why she stayed so late, right?" Joshua scratches his forehead. "If she left that late at night, then most people would just assume she wouldn't have gone there. They might have even forgot and just assumed she left directly at midnight."

"I'm sure she just wanted to talk with us until she got sleepy!" Kaixi pleads desperately.

Samia drums her fingers on her podium. "But this does show that she had the opportunity to kill Takumi. I can't deny that."

"No, that's completely wrong!" Kazuha declares suddenly, pointing a shaking finger towards Shizu. "Y-you're lying!"

"Oh? How so?" she responds coolly.

"You know when Takumi ate as well, right? It wasn't midnight at all! He ate around 11-ish at night or so," she explains.

Fumika clenches her fist. "So, you did know that after all."

Kazuha shakes her head rapidly. "N-no, that's not the point at all! If I left around midnight, I would have totally missed him. That's not an opportunity at all!"

"He was really paranoid you know," Chouki points out. "He might've skirted closer to the dining hall closing time to miss everyone."

Tsubame looks troubled at this."But she would have been taking a huge risk if she really did wait that long. She could have missed him completely and have been trapped in the dining hall for no good reason. That would also ruin her future plans."

"Exactly! That's exactly it!" Kazuha declares. "So, I never had the chance to kill him then!"

"I find it hard to believe that someone as paranoid as Takumi would risk breaking the nighttime rule by eating so close to midnight," Sawako adds. "I know there is a loophole and all, but I cannot picture him as someone who would attempt to test that boundary."

Joshua tugs on his beanie. "But nobody saw him yesterday, right? So his schedule could've been anything. Maybe he did become that reckless."

"That makes literally no sense," Chouki deadpans.

Soraru gives a weak chuckle. "N-nah, I understood it completely well. You're just underestimating the amount of thinking you need to do."

However, there's something in Joshua's words that resonates with Shizu. It's true. Nobody did see Takumi yesterday at all. She hadn't even seen him at breakfast even though she got there only a few minutes after the morning announcement. She had chalked it all up to Takumi people scared and not wanting to interact with anyone. But now, she can't focus on anything else.

She's startled from her thoughts when Sawako nudges her. "Pardon me, but you looked like you were lost in thought. I hope I didn't make you lose what you were thinking of, but I was starting to worry. Did you think of something else?"

Looking directly into her eyes, Shizu speaks carefully, "Nobody saw Takumi at all yesterday."

Sawako blinks. "I… yes, that is true. I believe that Joshua just mentioned that a few moments ago."

In spite of this, Shizu continues, "Takumi was killed in the freezer. He froze to death, and that's how we knew that he died last night because the time of death miraculously lined up perfectly."

Understanding begins to swirl in Sawako's eyes. For a brief moment, there's some kind of mental connection between them, and Shizu nods. Having been given a signal, Sawako whistles sharply to get everyone's attention.

Soraru whines, "Aw, come on! I thought we agreed not to make high pitched sounds anymore!"

"Once again… I am… very sorry for doing that…" Pal apologizes again for his past actions.

Sawako clears her throat. "Shizu has reason to believe that Takumi's death still hides many other mysteries. If she is correct, then Kazuha becomes even more suspicious."

"W-what now?" Kazuha cries. "Why are you so intent on suspecting me?!"

"Because," Shizu begins, "I refuse to distrust my own reasoning. I know that I'm right. And I have a theory that puts everything into perspective."

"That's a very tall order," Tsubame comments, tugging harshly on her braid.

She starts to explain. "Joshua was correct when he stated that nobody saw Takumi yesterday whatsoever. However, is that not slightly strange? I reached the dining hall right after the morning announcement yesterday, but Takumi was nowhere to be seen. Kogi was also running around last night doing laundry, and he did not mention seeing Takumi going to or leaving the dining hall either."

"That's not that weird though, right?" Kaixi asks. "I mean, he's super paranoid, so of course he would be cautiously and flighty and stuff. Err, not that that's a bad thing."

Fumika looks directly into her eyes. "No, it is a little strange. I would have thought somebody would have at least seen or heard something from him, but nobody did. Not even when he supposedly would have left for dinner last night."

Briefly, Shizu remembers Fumika's nighttime habit. Spurred on, she makes her argument. "Michio's autopsy report was very enlightening, but I believe he got one thing wrong. How do we know it was last night that Takumi was killed?"

The courtroom explodes into shouting instantly. Kazuha is the first clear voice out there. "What are you saying?! I thought y-you were the one who trusted Michio's work the most!"

Michio grits his teeth. "If Takumi was frozen to death, though, then we already know that we can't trust the time of death. That's just basic coroner stuff!"

"It would also make everything make sense," Samia responds. "I thought it was a little strange that the culprit would hide the time of death by freezing Takumi's body while simultaneously revealing exactly when they killed him. It negates a lot of their work. But, if he was killed later, then things start to line up."

Hachi looks very conflicted. "This is seriously crazy!"

Shizu ignores this outburst. "I would like to posit that Takumi was not killed last night. He was killed at a completely different time." It's not that hard to figure out when that would have been. It would also have explained what she had seen Kazuha doing at that time.

* * *

 **When was Takumi actually killed?**

A. Two mornings ago

 **B. Two nights ago**

C. Yesterday morning

D. This morning

* * *

"Takumi was killed when he went to dinner but not when we first thought. He was killed two nights ago." Shizu adjusts her glasses as this revelation sinks in.

"Nighttime would be the most efficient time to hide one's crime," Morgan muses calmly. "I can very well see that being the case."

Shizu says, "That's not the only reason I suspect that time, however. Two nights ago, I saw Kazuha doing some laundry right around the time when Takumi would normally be eating."

Inhaling sharply, Tsubame eventually says, "Then… she could have been washing her clothes if they had gotten stained with blood or hiding more evidence like the towels she used to wipe up the blood."

"Hey, that's what you all accused me of doing!" Joshua shouts. "Except this time maybe it actually happened? So maybe those ideas weren't all that off the mark to begin with."

"Huh? Do you want us to yell at you more so we get good ideas again?" Soraru asks him cheerfully.

Joshua sweats a little. "Uh… no thank you, please."

Ignoring this little aside, Kogi says, "Well, I definitely trust Shizu's memory on this one. Not that I really doubted it to begin with, but I'm definitely sure that Kazuha was doing laundry a few nights ago. If it lines up with when Takumi might have died, then it becomes all the more suspicious."

Hachi shudders. "It would also explain why… why the blood bad was hidden in the fridge… She could have put it there that night. She wouldn't have wanted to have been caught carrying around a blood bag on the night of the supposed murder, right? Then, keeping it hidden makes more sense…"

"Everything is beginning… to fit together." Pal sighs. "Things that once seemed… strange are now beginning to… come together. Is this fate… showing us the way?"

"I won't let you dog pile on me!"

It was only a matter of time before Kazuha interjected again. Panting slightly and with tears welling up in her eyes, she shouts, "H-hold on! You can't just decide stuff like that all of the sudden. You can't change your argument so easily and expect everything to hold true!"

"What exactly do you think doesn't hold true?" Shizu twirls her pen around her fingers, wincing when she realizes that the tip is still out. "All that changes is that you would have only had to sneak into the dining hall last night instead of also killing Takumi then. It makes your actions more suspicious, but that is all I can think of."

"Th-then… you need to think some more!" Kazuha accuses as her entire body trembles.

There's a harsh glint in Shizu's eyes at this challenge. "Very well then. Try and prove me wrong."

Nervously, Kazuha swallows. "F-fine! Y-you'll see, and then y-you'll have to apologize!"

* * *

 **Rebuttal Showdown Start**

 **Kazuha:** You can't just change the time of the crime like that all willy nilly!

 **Kazuha:** The entire argument so far is based on the fact that Takumi was killed tonight, not two nights ago!

 **Kazuha:** You went through all that trouble to prove that Michio was right only to walk back so easily?

 **Kazuha:**

 **Kazuha:** Surely, someone would have noticed if that was the case, because people aren't that blind to reality.

 **Kazuha:** Just because I was in the laundry room that night doesn't mean that Takumi had to have died then!

 **Advance**

 **Shizu:** You already heard what everyone else thought.

 **Shizu:** They all assumed that Takumi was paranoid enough to literally never come out.

 **Shizu:** Michio's autopsy wouldn't have picked up on this distinction either, which he has literally told us.

 **Shizu:** It is completely possible to hide that Takumi died two nights ago.

 **Kazuha:** I'm not talking about any of that stuff though!

 **Kazuha:** What about Takumi's body?

 **Kazuha:** There's no way that people wouldn't have noticed something like that!

 **Kazuha:** There's _**nowhere to put it**_!

 **Kazuha:** If the culprit really did kill him when you said they did, then they'd have been found out right away!

 **Shizu:** _Kazuha must really be on her last legs if that's her best defense. There's no sense in wasting any more time dragging this out. It would be cruel to do otherwise._

 **Freezer Container**

 _ **nowhere to put it**_

 **BREAK**

* * *

"You know that that's obviously not true." Shizu's words cut deep into Kazuha, as it looks like her legs almost gave out for a second.

"N-no! You have to be lying!"she yells, desperately trying to steady herself.

Fumika breaks the bad news to her. "Even if you're not the culprit, you'd still be wrong. We already talked about this earlier when we were yelling at Joshua. The freezer has a container in it."

Joshua pounds his hand with his fist. "Yeah, that's right! Don't lie to us like that, especially not when you put me under the wringer for trying that one out."

"Hypothermia and frostbite may have been concerns for Joshua, but Takumi would have already been dead," Samia asserts. "If you thawed him out, then all traces that he spent all that time in there would not have shown up."

"As we already said, there's enough room to fit a body in there, even someone as tall as Takumi," Chouki adds.

Michio scratches his chin. "Plus, if you positioned him just right inside the freezer, his body might have been locked into enough of a sitting position that he could have been taken out and put at the dining table with minimal problems."

"That's… you can't-"Kazuha blabbers.

Shizu snaps her fingers. "Kazuha, need I remind you of the consequences of this trial? If we vote for the wrong culprit, then every single innocent person dies. If you are truly innocent, then you need to argue harder."

At this comment, Kazuha's eyes go completely blank. For a few moments, she mouths a few words, but Shizu can't make them out. Then, almost as suddenly, tears begin to form, and she bows her head.

"K-Kazuha?" Hachi asks, quietly. She leans over, trying to get a good look at her eyes but to no avail.

In a nearly silent voice, Kazuha says, "Okay."

Pal tilts his head. "Okay… what?"

"You're… you're right," she mumbles.

Morgan smile at her. "Then, you have an argument. Please, let us hear it."

"It was me."

Michio chokes. "Ex-excuse me?"

"Kazuha?!" Kaixi shouts.

"You're admitting to it? What's your game here?" Fumika grasps her podium tightly, confusion dancing in her eyes.

Slowly, Kazuha lifts her head up again. Just as before, her eyes are completely empty. "I'm the culprit. I killed Takumi."

"Please hold on." Tsubame clutches at her chest. "I know we were suspecting you, but please… you cannot just drop that on us so suddenly,"

Kaixi grabs at his head with both of his hands and shuts his eyes tightly. "Y-you're lying, right? You have to be lying!"

Biting her inner cheek, Sawako mutters, "But why would anyone lie about something like this?"

Somehow, Kazuha looks even emptier upon hearing everyone's confusion, and Shizu's heart begins to tug. It feels as though this wasn't intentional. Kazuha must have meant to clear things up, given how she gave up once reminded of the stakes. But, unfortunately, now more people are worried and shouting. There's only one way she can think to salvage this.

Shizu raises her voice. "If you're having trouble understanding, then perhaps it would help to hear a summary of the crime one last time. If you all have any more doubts, even after that confession, then this should hopefully clear them up."

"That may… be of some use," Pal admits.

Kaixi shudders. "If… if you think that will help…"

Seeing how nobody is objecting, she begins. "In that case, this is exactly what happened.

* * *

 **Closing Argument**

"The crime took place two days ago. After receiving the motive from Monokuma and watching the group's structure fall apart thanks to Soraru's prank, the culprit chose to make their move. They knew of Takumi's eating habits, so they realized they would find him alone that night. They waited in hiding for him to arrive. Then, they took him by surprise and hit him in the back of the head with a blunt object, most likely obtained from the kitchen. With one strike, he was rendered unconscious.

"Takumi was not actually dead, however. The culprit was not aware of this and began the second phase of their plan. After cleaning up the bloodstains from their attack and removing his bag, they carried Takumi into the freezer and hid him in the container of ice cream. By doing this, they both obscured the time of death and made sure nobody would find his body. Once this was done, they quickly gather the towels they used to clean up the blood and hurried to the laundry room to wash them. They would also be able to dispose of Takumi's bag along the way.

Next, they waited a full day before moving on with their plan. They waiting until it was almost midnight before they left the late night meeting at the lounge. Due to a loophole in the rules, they were able to spend the night in the dining hall to prepare for the next morning. This would help make us think that the crime had taken place earlier.

"They woke up before the morning announcement played in order to set up the crime scene. They made sure to dry off Takumi's body before sitting him up at the table. Then, they hid those towels in the back of the cleaning closet so that we would be less likely to find them. To make it look like he was eating breakfast, they poured him a bowl of cereal. Unfortunately for them, they chose an already-opened box, which proves Takumi never ate that morning. Finally, they took the blood bag they had hidden in the fridge and applied a fresh coat over his head.

"Everything had gone according to plan so far. All they needed to do now was wait for me to arrive, so they could escape after I left to get help. However, I was delayed thanks to Soraru's cake prank. Therefore, they were stuck waiting until Michio, Sawako, and Hachi all discovered the body. They needed to change the plan on the fly, so they snuck out of hiding when they heard everyone screaming. However, they were spotted by me as they left, and their lack of knowledge of the cake traps proved for certain that they did not come to the dining hall from their room.

"Kazuha Kimura… These are the details of your crime!"

 **BREAK**

* * *

The only sound in the room after Shizu's explanation is the quiet sobs coming from Kazuha. Nobody looks confident enough to speak up after everything that had been said. Even Kaixi and Hachi, the most ardent of defenders, look at a loss for words.

Leave it for Monokuma to ruin the moment. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but that sounded conclusive enough to me! I was starting to get a little bored anyways. Discussion time's over. Now, it's time to vote!"

"So soon?" Tsubame flinches at the thought.

He dismisses her nonchalantly. "Hey, you got all the time you needed. All you need to do is make a selection on the screen in front of you. It's not that hard. So no complaining!"

Pal gazes at his podium as a screen suddenly light up. "I suppose… we have no choice."

"Nah, not really. Plus, if you don't vote, then I'm gonna kill you, so you'd better vote for someone." Monokuma cackles at the thought, making several people squirm uneasily.

Shizu stares at the screen for a few seconds before shaking herself out of her chance and making her selection. Given her line of reasoning, she's certain she's not making a mistake. Theoretically, this should be an easy choice, but it feels like her hand doesn't want to move at all. But there's no turning back now.

* * *

 **Make Your Vote**

Shizu Saneyoshi

Tsubame Watari

Michio Kokkaku

 **Kazuha Kimura**

Sawako Kido

Fumika Amari

Hachi Hachimitsu

Soraru Kishinuma

 _Takumi Haruko_

Kogi Bodo

Chouki Awadachi

Morgan Feysonn

Kaixi Cheng

Palaemon Katsaros

Samia Bahouri

Joshua Miller

 **Tallying Votes…**

 **Kazuha Kimura – 15**

 **CORRECT**

 **Ultimate Trial End**

* * *

"Wow, a completely unanimous vote! I can't say that I expected that for our first trial ever." Monokuma climbs onto his desk, looks over everyone, and laughs. "But you're exactly correct! The one who killed Takumi Haruko was indeed our very own Kazuha Kimura!"

Kaixi makes a choking sound. "N-no way… I still can't believe it…"

"Then why did you vote for her?" Chouki scoffs. "You can't try to please everyone, especially not in a situation like this. Face the facts: she's a murderer."

There are fat tears rolling down Kazuha's face, and she's completely collapsed to the floor. It seems like she's unable to move from her position. From the sound of things, she can't even get out any complete sentences.

Hachi is in a similar state. "W-why? Why did y-you do it?" she cries out between sobs.

"B-because I'm a t-terrible p-person!" Kazuha wails out, though it's nearly incoherent.

Fumika gives her a pitying look. "Don't give us that. I won't accept an answer like that, especially not from someone who can't even stand up straight."

"Did you perhaps fall prey to the motive?" Sawako asks.

Kazuha nods weakly in response. Having heard that, Shizu exhales sharply and pinches her forehead. Even a motive like that one had gotten a response from Kazuha of all people…

"You were worried about your family enough to kill one of us then." Kogi's statement is accusatory but his tone takes a lot of the punch out of it. Perhaps he's also having trouble being completely mad at her.

After a few loud sniffles, Kazuha begins to compose herself a little. "Of course I was… Everyone told me that it was all going to be alright and that we shouldn't trust the motive, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. I couldn't stop thinking about my family slowly being poisoned to death, and then that spread to everyone who lived near them as well. And then I couldn't stop thinking about everyone else's families suffering the same fate. And… and…" At this point, she breaks down into tears again.

"You were afraid not only for yourself but also for everyone else as well…" Samia says. Her expression is a mixture of horror and anger, and Shizu can't tell which one is the dominant emotion.

"It's not just that either," Kazuha eventually continues. "People aren't the only ones who would be hurt by poisoned drinking water! Animals drink it as well, and several species live in it. If poison got into the water systems of all of our hometowns, it would have been an ecological disaster, a possible extinction level event!"

Chouki winces. "…Yeah, that definitely would have been a complete disaster. I guess I can't deny worrying about that either."

Pal nods solemnly. "With that many lives… both human and animal… at risk, it is… no wonder that your thoughts… became clouded with fear. I cannot… condone your actions… but I can empathize with your feelings."

"So, you killed one person in order to save the lives of countless others. Can't exactly say that's a selfish motive." Michio pulls his hat over his eyes with a trembling hand, refusing to look at anyone.

"But we didn't have any guarantee that the motive was real!" Soraru claims. "I mean, yeah, it's nice and all that you thought about it, but didn't you kind of fall into Monokuma's trap?"

"Hey! How dare you question my power?" Monokuma leers over xem with a sharpened paw at the ready. "I'll have you know that my motive was 100% legitimate. If I say that I'm going to poison thousands of people, then I'm poisoning thousands of people! If I tried to threaten you guys with false motives, then you'd never have started killing."

"Y-you weren't messing around at all, huh?" Suppressing a gulp midway, Joshua stares at the floor intensely, as if his eyes are going to fall out of his head.

Morgan sighs. "I had inkling that your power was true. There were many bad omens… Still, to hear it confirmed once again is chilling to the bone."

"S-so, you r-really did save everyone then," Kaixi stutters as he turns back to face Kazuha, perhaps in an attempt to cheer her up.

However, she only starts crying harder. "N-no, I didn't! If I actually wanted t-to save you all, I w-would've just t-taken the blame immediately instead of h-hiding like a c-coward. Y-you all nearly d-died because of me!"

"I believe that was the purpose of Monokuma withholding information about the rules," Tsubame responds sadly. "He didn't introduce the concept of anyone else dying until after the murder happened. That was, the initial fear of dying would outweigh the concern over killing everyone else."

Samia grasps her headscarf tightly and sighs. "In the end, you did come clean. It took a while, but still… For what you were attempting to accomplish and for what we have all undergone, I can't force myself to hate you."

"Murder is still murder," Kogi points out. "And she was going to escape and leave the rest of us here to die. Please forgive me if I'm still a little annoyed about almost being killed as well."

"I didn't even want to leave this place at first…" Kazuha sobs gently.

Shizu blinks rapidly. "Hmm? Could you please explain a little further? I'm afraid I don't understand."

Kazuha nods. "I d-didn't think I deserved to escape after what I had done… I wasn't even planning on revealing Takumi's body in the first place. I was going to hide it forever in the freezer container. Monokuma restocks the place every night, so I didn't think anyone would ever find him…"

"That seems a little unsustainable. Surely someone would have noticed at some point," Sawako asserts. "He may have been elusive, but we would get worried eventually."

Pal scratches his temple with a single finger."Also, if that was… your plan, then why… would you reveal him at all?"

"Because of what Monokuma said the next day," Kazuha explains.

Shizu's eyes light up. "If I remember correctly, he claimed that he would release the poison the next day if a corpse did not appear soon… I had assumed he was talking about someone committing murder, but…"

"He was calling me out," she finishes, wiping away some of her tears. "He knew what I had done, and he wouldn't let me hide my crime from the rest of you. So, I brought him out last night, and I almost killed the rest of you in this stupid trial."

"I see. May I ask you one more question?" Shizu taps her pen thoughtfully. Seeing Kazuha nod slowly, she then says, "I could be completely wrong, but you did not seem as though you were ready to commit murder when I talked with you that day. Yet you still went through with your plan. Did the split affect you that greatly, or did I completely misread you?"

Kazuha chokes on around sob. "I…" She trails off quickly.

"Kazuha, please!" Hachi cries. "I… I also wanna know."

Composing herself again, she looks Shizu directly in the eyes. "I don't want you to blame yourself, but our talk… You told me that, as long as we were still together, then everything would turn out okay. But, not even a few hours later, everything fell to pieces. It was like my last hope had been destroyed along with the group. That's… that's why I did it. Because I'm weak and a terrible person."

Biting her lip, Shizu averts her eyes. She should have known just by looking back at her notes. She never had been the best at comforting people, and now it had come to this. Damn it. She's vaguely aware of the fact that she's crushing her notepad in a vice grip.

Monokuma yawns. "Well, that was a little entertaining, but I'm bored now. It's time to move along to the main event!"

Joshua does a double take. "Main event? Wasn't that just the trial?"

"Have you forgotten already?" He cackles. "You all correctly guess who the culprit was. That means that they have an extra special punishment waiting for them!"

Hachi shrieks. "N-no!"

"The… the execution…" Chouki whispers, his composure fading as he speaks.

"You can't! You can't just kill her like that! W-we all forgive her, right?!" Kaixi looks around desperately at the others, as if trying to rally all of them.

"I don't care if you forgive her or not. The rules are the rules!" Monokuma declares.

He looks devastated. "B-but-"

"N-no… It's alright." Kazuha finally stands back up and wipes the last of her tears from her eyes. "I killed Takumi. He was completely innocent, and I took advantage of his paranoia, and I killed him in the most horrible way possible. I… I deserve this."

"Nobody deserves such a fate." Sawako rushes forwards and grips her by her shoulders. "The death penalty is something that I cannot accept!"

Morgan looks on with a stern expression. "The spirits are getting restless. If you go through with executing her, there will be no recourse for you in the afterlife."

Monokuma barely even bats an eyelash. "I think I'll take my chances. Now then, enough chatter! I've prepared a very special punishment for Kazuha Kimura, the Ultimate Zoologist!"

Kazuha struggles her way out of Sawako's grip. "It's… it's going to be alright. I'll be fine."

"You're literally going to die." Soraru attempts to say this in a deadpan tone but fails miserably.

"I… I just want the rest of you to never succumb the same pressure that I did. I believe in all of you! I'll face my death h-head on." Despite her stuttering, she straightens her cap and blinks away her tears. It would almost be empowering if Shizu didn't know the context.

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's punishment time!"

* * *

 **It's a Jungle out There**

Somehow, Kazuha has found herself in some kind of jungle-like setting, lying face down on the grassy ground. As she pulls herself up, she appears to begin to take in her surroundings. She barely has any time to process her new location when a loud growl emanates from behind her. Slowly, she turns her head to see a pair of hungry eyes staring her down.

There's no more time for hesitation. She immediately bolts before whatever it was can pounce on her. She rushes past the dense foliage, branches thwacking against her face as she desperately attempts to escape. She glances back to confirm that her pursuer is a tiger. Her head swivels back around just in time for her to get hit with the oncoming branch on her forehead.

Dazed, she picks herself off the ground and narrows rolls out of the tiger's second lunge. She can feel blood dripping down her face, but there's no time for her to dwell on that. She needs to run, she needs to escape.

Suddenly, Kazuha skids to a halt, nearly falling into a rushing river. She can make out piranhas darting to and fro in the rapids, but she dismisses them. Piranhas aren't the problem here. Tigers can swim, and she'd be dead for sure if she tries to cross. Shaking her head, she rushes to the side to find another avenue of escape.

The thickets and thorns are tearing into her skin, but she refuses to stop. Then, her eyes widen. There's a snake coiled up directly in front of her. In only a few seconds, she identifies the species, how venomous it is, and what it looks like when it's going to strike. Just in the nick of time, she dodges once again but goes tumbling down a cliff in the process.

Bleeding from all angles, bruised all over, and panting heavily, she coughs as she hits the ground once more. Everything is quiet, too quiet. The sounds around her have stopped. She looks up and sees another set of eyes glaring at her. A series of red eyes.

She scrambles backwards but hits the edge of the cliff. She whimpers as a nearly endless series of Monokumas walk slowly out of the jungle, converging on her position. She wracks her brain but there's no escape.

Her screams echo throughout the room as they tear into her. Soon, she's obscured from view, but the screams continue to echo. Until they slowly lose their power and fade out forever.

* * *

It takes several moments for Shizu to fully process what she had just witnessed. Monokuma had dragged all of them into another room and up to safe area to view Kazuha's horrifying demise. Every single visceral detail was right in their view. Even if they looked away from the thick, glass window, there were several monitors tracking every action. Even if they closed their eyes, the sounds would still reach them.

Hachi's wails are the loudest, and her face is filled with an indescribable emotion. Chouki is still glaring at where the animals were, his fists clenched. Michio's hands are shaking so intensely that he's having trouble moving his arms at all. He has a thousand yard stare as he continues to stand in place. It's a miracle that Kaixi hasn't thrown up, given his face. Sawako looks like she's about to strangle Monokuma. All of the laughter and cheer has fled Soraru's entire body, leaving a cold husk in its wake.

"Woohoo! Extreme!" Monokuma shouts, adding insult to injury. "Talk about a great execution!"

"Great? Great?!" Fury unlike any she's ever heard erupts from Pal's lips. Her eyes immediately dart to his sharp fingernails and, for once, she feels a little uneasy.

"Yeah, it really gets your blood pumping, doesn't it?" he replies without a care in the world. "That's the mark of a great execution. Well, that and some dramatic irony, but you know how it goes."

"Why…?" Kaixi manages to say.

Morgan is holding onto her bracelets as if they're able to repel evil. "Even by death penalty standards, that was much too cruel."

"This is all a game to him…" Fumika growls. "He thinks this is funny. There's no use trying to get someone like him to feel bad or explain themselves."

Monokuma nods. "Glad to see we've reached an understanding." He does a few stretches before blinking at them. "Well, what are you all still standing around here for? If you don't want to dwell on this, then maybe you should just leave. The elevator's right where you left it."

Joshua hesitates. "After all that, we're just supposed to leave and pretend like nothing ever happened?"

He crosses his paws. "Well, technically only one of those things. I can't have you hanging around here all night, you know. I've got things to prepare for! So get out of here already!" With that, he runs off and vanishes quickly.

Nobody is quite sure if they should follow his orders. However, eventually, Michio takes the first step and starts leaving the room. Chouki storms out after him, with Pal right at his heels. Fairly soon, everyone else is filing out of the room, back to the courtroom, and into the elevator. None of them feel comfortable enough to talk, not even to give each other words of encouragement.

Shizu has no idea what time it is or how long they spent in that trial. There are a lot of things that she needs to process right now. As the elevator slowly ascends, she loses herself in thought, and her eyes start to close a little. Shaking herself awake, she promises to at least make it back to her room.

When the elevator dings on the second floor, the doors open, and she sees that, somehow, the mess made by Soraru's pranks has been cleaned up. Was that what Monokuma was doing during the trial? It would explain why he was so silent for a while there.

Joshua snaps her out of her thoughts. Vaguely, she's aware that the other second floor residents have already walked away. "Um… this is kind of awkward, and I don't know how to say it good, so here goes nothing. Thank you for helping defend me back there. It really meant a lot to me."

"No problem," she replies listlessly.

He tugs on his beanie. "Um… well then, later, I guess." Then, he files out of the elevator as well, and the doors shut once again.

Her feet start moving the instant the elevator hits the fourth floor. She's in no mood for condolences or conversations at this point, not that she expects that anyone else is either. Her brisk pace is uninterrupted, thankfully, so she gets to her room without any troubles.

Instantly, Shizu flops down onto her bed, letting herself sink into the comfortable sheets and mattress. Her brain has been buzzing with the thoughts of Takumi and Kazuha. Their faces are already starting to become fuzzy to her. She picks up a pillow as if to scream into it, but the sound refuses to leave her mouth.

She never got to know either of them at all. Takumi kept to himself, and his entire past and way of thinking and reasons for being who he was will all forever be lost to her. She never even predicted that Kazuha would be someone who would resort to murder, but, likewise, she never got to know her at all either. Shizu thinks about Takumi's bag and wonders if that would be a bit too literal of a metaphor for this situation.

They were people too. Her notes only covered what she thought she needed to know in order to keep everyone safe, but she's completely failed in that regard. She knows it's not entirely her fault, but she should have realized sooner. She had gotten too comfortable here.

And now two people are gone forever.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: A Different Kind of Prison**

 **End**

 **14 Ultimates Remain**

* * *

A/N: That concludes the first chapter of Society of Talent! Hopefully it was worth the wait. I feel like I was sort of rushing to get done with this trial because, as it turns out, I am very bad at mysteries and also foreshadowing things. Oops. I hope that the culprit at least feels believable. Also, sorry about the length of this chapter. I hope that I never churn out one as long and tedious as this one again, so also apologies there. College is starting to ramp up in difficulty so chapters will probably start coming a little slower from now on. Whatever the case, thank you for everyone who reviewed, Lupus Overkill for beta reading, and anyone reading this at all. I hope you have a fantastic day!


	15. Bonus: For Those We Have Lost 01

Beta Read by Lupus Overkill

* * *

Shizu looks up from her breakfast to see Takumi immediately rush past her into the kitchen. Clearly, he's still feeling incredibly paranoid, as his movements are stiff despite their quickness. Still, he didn't rush back outside when he saw that she was in here. Perhaps he feels some manner of comfort around her. Either that or he doesn't view her as a threat.

She's suddenly filled with some kind of determination, and she's not exactly sure why. Swallowing the last of her breakfast, she collects her cutlery and quickly enters the kitchen as well. Takumi is currently hunched over by the fridge, so she deposits everything she's carrying into the dishwasher and leans on the counter, staring down at him.

It takes him a moment to realize that she's there, but, when he does, he flinches and slams the fridge shut instantly. "Gah! What are you doing?!" he shouts.

"I wanted to talk to you," she calmly replies. Eyeing his empty hands, she raises an eyebrow. "Did you already choose your breakfast, or did you forget to grab something before you panicked?"

Underneath his bag, his eyes widen. "I… shut up," he grumbles, slowly opening the refrigerator again to pull out a carton of milk. "Look, I'm not in the mood, so just get this talking thing over with already."

Shizu waits for him to move away slightly before she responds, in case of another startle. She needs to learn more about him, but she can't exactly keep asking about his feelings directly. A roundabout method may work better. "I was curious about your talent."

He trembles slightly at that. "What about it?"

"Why are you the Ultimate Cover Artist?" she asks.

"W-what kind of question is that?!" Takumi shouts, whirling around to face her in a single motion. "You really think my voice is that bad that I can't be a cover artist?!"

Shaking her head, she responds, "That's not even close to what I was implying. I just have a bit of a hard time imaging you as someone who would want to cover songs in the first place."

He crosses his arms. "Great… Now, I'm apparently not allowed to like music at all either. Guess what? I need to pass the time somehow when I'm alone in my room!"

Shizu can feel a headache coming on. Takumi is certainly good at twisting things to take the worst possible interpretation, she'll give him that. Suppressing a groan, she says, "Again, that is not what I meant. Many people enjoy music, but most people do not then go on to make their own music, be it covers or original. I was wondering why someone such as yourself would get famous for an activity such as that, especially when you seem to not enjoy attention."

This actually seems to quell his anger, believe it or not. He freezes in place before turning back around to pour milk into his cereal. "…Ugh, fine. Look, I've always been musically inclined. Even back during my early school days, I was in choir and stuff. I was always humming tunes whenever I got the chance. It's only natural that I'd pick it up. Nothing strange about it."

"That certainly explains one part of my question, but I would like a little more clarification, if that is fine," Shizu presses.

"I was getting to that part," he complains, raising his hands up in the air. Luckily, he wasn't holding anyone, or food might have gone flying. "I never wanted to get famous or anything. I only posted some of my stuff online. I never meant for it to start getting popular at all, let alone be arrogant enough to think that anyone else would enjoy it. It was just… just a thing." He trails off near the end of his sentence, perhaps lost in memories.

She nods along to his explanation. "I see. Online trends are certainly hard to predict. However, I am still curious why you decided to become an Ultimate. Surely you knew that the spotlight would be pressed even further onto you once you accepted."

He scoffs. "Yeah, don't I know it? That government guy was real persistent. Wouldn't leave me alone no matter how many times I declined…"

Tilting her head, she says, "Forgive me, but I can't see that stopping you."

"Of course it didn't." He almost sounds a little proud with that statement, though his mood drops again as he continues. "But bills don't care much about what I want."

She nods. "Ah, monetary issues."

"Don't act so surprised. Everyone needs to pay for things, especially someone like me. It doesn't matter that I didn't want any of the stuff that came along with the title of Ultimate other than cash. Videos weren't paying as well, and…" He pauses in his rant. "Ugh, whatever… I needed the money, and he had money. At least I got to keep doing something that I sort of cared about. End of story."

He picks up his bowl of cereal, and, before she can get another word in, quickly marches out of the kitchen. As the doors close behind him, Shizu notices that he neglected to put away the milk and the cereal box. At least some of her questions were answered, but, judging by his hasty departure, there is still more to this story than he's willing to divulge.

* * *

 _Conversation with Takumi Haruko (2)_

 _\- Apparently has been involved with music even from an early age_

 _\- Posted videos of his cover songs online, never expected them to gain any traction_

 _\- Why would he risk anyone seeing them, though? Could point to him originally not being quite as cowardly when first performing covers of songs_

 _\- Only accepted his Ultimate title after been pressured by money issues (seems to still be hiding something here)_

* * *

There's a bit of noise coming from the infirmary. It's most likely Samia rummaging around through the cabinets, perhaps in an attempt to take inventory of everything again. Still, it's probably best to check it out just in case. Maybe she could lend a hand.

In reality, it's Kazuha who's going through the infirmary's cabinets. Currently, she's holding a small bottle, reading the label on the back. Then, she sighs, puts it back, and reaches into the cabinet for another one. She's so busy with her task that she hasn't even heard Shizu's entrance.

Shizu clears her throat. Kazuha straightens up slightly and turns around. Her face splits into a small grin. "Oh, hi Shizu! I'm sorry I didn't hear you come in. I hope you weren't waiting for a long time!"

"Believe me, I don't have the patience to wait around for something like that," Shizu clarifies.

"Oh." Kazuha adjusts her cap as her smile dips. She regains it quickly, however. "W-well, anyways, is there something you wanted in here?" She moves to the side of the cabinet, letting Shizu see the inside. Despite the fact that Kazuha's probably been here a while, it looks like everything is still organized. She must have put everything back into place.

Shaking her head, Shizu replies, "No. I simply heard some noise and came to investigate. Was there something in particular you were looking for?"

Kazuha nods, moving back into place and putting the bottle back. "Yeah, I'm looking for some stuff that helps with sleep issues."

"Are you having trouble falling asleep?" Shizu purses her lips.

"Oh, sorry, it's not for me. It's for Joshua," Kazuha explains. "He's been showing up late to pretty much all of the meetings that we have. I know he's been having trouble with sleep stuff, so I wanted to see if I could help him out somehow. So, I came in here to look for stuff to either help him fall asleep sooner or to wake up faster. So far, I've only found these sleeping pills, and I'm not sure he'd want something like that…"

Shizu blinks. It's not exactly out of character, but, still, there's something about that which she finds odd. "I see… Did he ask you to do this for him? I think that he should probably take these matters into his own hands."

"No, nothing like that," Kazuha quickly denies. "I was just talking to him, and he mentioned his sleep troubles. So, I came over here to see if I could find a solution!"

"That is nice, but I think that it might have been wise to get Samia to assist you. She knows this room much better than the rest of us," Shizu claims.

Frowning, Kazuha shakes her head. "I thought about doing that, but I didn't want to bother her with something personal like this, especially not if I could do it without her help. I mean, it's only looking over the labels and seeing if I find something that might help out. It's time consuming but nothing too awful."

"Certainly, all of this is very thoughtful of you, but there is no need to take all of this on by yourself," Shizu says, adjusting her glasses.

Kazuha seems a little surprised by this, since her eyes go wide and her head moves backwards. "Huh? Am I doing something wrong? I didn't mean to pry into Joshua's business or anything…"

Huh. That's not exactly the reaction she expected. "I wouldn't say you were doing something wrong per say," Shizu attempts to elaborate. "I'm certain that Joshua would appreciate your efforts, but I'm also certain that Samia would not have been annoyed to lend a hand if it meant helping someone else out."

At this, Kazuha blushes a little. "O-oh, right… sorry. I guess this sort of thing just comes naturally to me, y'know?"

"How so?" Shizu asks.

"Well, I've been doing stuff like this for most of my life, actually," Kazuha explains. "I had to take care of both of my younger siblings a lot of the time when our parents were busy. Not that I hated it, far from it. It wasn't even too much work, to be honest. But I have been helping them out for a long time now, and I guess it sort of made me want to always help out."

Nodding along, Shizu replies, "I see. But didn't you say that Joshua didn't ask for your help?"

"You can't always trust people to say when something's wrong, you know," Kazuha states. "My little siblings couldn't always explain what they needed or even if something was wrong. It's just something that you have to pick up on if you want people to be happy."

Shizu can definitely relate. It does make sense. After all, planning strategies is rarely straightforward. She can't just rely solely on the information that is provided to her at the start. "I suppose that life lessens like that still apply to more than just children."

"Right!" Kazuha vigorously agrees. "It's also helpful for things like zoos. Animals in captivity behave way differently from wild animals. You need to pick up on signs that something's wrong right away, and those signs aren't always the same ones that you see out in nature. Intuition and a lot of experience is the key!"

"…I hope you're not saying that we are caged animals," Shizu deadpans.

Kazuha gives a nervous chuckle. "Well, you have to admit that the metaphor's a little apt. I mean, we're totally trapped in here under completely different conditions than, say, voluntary isolation. There are different warning signs that something's wrong. But having a wide berth of experiences can help us pick up on those signs. At least, that's what I think."

"Hmm…" Shizu neither confirms nor denies this, even as Kazuha fidgets slightly in place. "Well, whatever the case, perhaps you should simply talk to Samia, at least in this case."

"Maybe…" Kazuha bites her lip. "I didn't really find anything on my own. Nothing seemed to be all that useful. Samia could have some different ideas…" Tilting her head back and forth for a while, she eventually comes to a conclusion. "Alright, I'll do it. Thanks for the chat, Shizu!"

Shizu steps to the side as Kazuha rushes past her. There's little point in hanging around here any longer, especially not when she has so much to think about.

* * *

 _Conversation with Kazuha Kimura (2)_

 _\- Attempted to solve Joshua's sleeping problems by finding the correct medicine, unsuccessful as of now_

 _\- Didn't think it was worth getting help from Samia over_

 _\- Used to having to look after people, noted younger siblings and animals in captivity as examples of having to help those who did not always ask for it_

 _\- Either someone who cares a lot of about people's wellbeing or someone who likes to be in control at all times_

* * *

The next time that Shizu manages to catch Takumi is when he's leaving the laundry room. It makes sense that he'd have to clean his stuff eventually, though she is a little ashamed to admit that she could imagine him wallowing in his filth if it meant not interacting with people. The most bizarre thing is that it's not even that late.

He doesn't seem all that willing to talk, though, at the very least, he doesn't flinch at her approach. He tries to push past her, but she catches his arm. Immediately, he begins struggling. "H-hey!" he yells. "What the hell are you doing?! Let me go!"

"I was attempting to start a conversation, and it looked as though you were not willing to even acknowledge my presence," she responds in an even tone.

"That doesn't mean you have to manhandle me!" he complains, still shifting around wildly. "Didn't you even consider that I don't want to talk?"

She ignores the fact that her grip isn't even that tight. "Yes, I did. In fact, I had only a few seconds to consider that before I presumed that you were going to run back to your room before I could address you."

His eyes narrow under his bag, and he looks to the floor. "…Ugh, so what? That still doesn't change the fact that I'm not in the mood for talking."

"As far as I'm aware, you have never been in the mood for talking," Shizu says.

His movements start to lessen. "If you think that, then why are you harassing me this time? Can't you just leave me alone?"

She shakes her head. "We've all been trapped in the same situation together. Running off and trying to be alone doesn't change that fact. It's in my best interest to at least understand you. That's the selfish answer, at least."

Perhaps the perceived brutal honesty in her statement struck some kind of a chord, as Takumi finally calms down. He attempts to cross his arms but forgets that his right arm is still grasped. He settles for trying to look casual. "…Fine. Let's make this quick then. What do you want?"

"You mentioned posting your covers online," Shizu states, finally letting his arm go.

Takumi rubs it, as though he was actually injured. "Ugh, is that what this is about? What, did you think that you've seen some of my videos or something?"

She raises an eyebrow at that. She's never been the kind of person who wastes time flipping through videos aimlessly, especially not with her job… No, no sense thinking about that right now. "No. I was simply curious. Did you physically appear in any of your videos?"

"What? You mean like get on camera?" He slouches a little, clearly unimpressed. "What do you think the answer to that is? I thought you were supposed to be able to put two and two together."

She feels her eye twitch involuntarily. "I was just curious because of the bag on your head. I was wondering if it was part of a costume or something, but I should have known better than that."

Takumi's hands instantly fly to his bag, and he grips it tightly. His breathing begins to speed up. "Y-you… what are you t-talking about? Why do you c-care about some dumb b-bag?"

…There's a lot to unpack there. However, the direct approach will probably only cause more anxiety, and Takumi is smart enough to call her out if she tries to backpedal at this juncture. "…It's a little hard not to notice," she eventually says. "There are quite a few ways to stand out online. I didn't want to assume anything negative is all."

"S-sure… fine then, whatever." His grip doesn't loosen, but it doesn't appear that he's going to run away just yet. "Y-you're just mocking m-me."

"Getting exasperated, yes. Mocking, no." She resists the urge to pinch her forehead, choosing instead to keep her eye contact steady.

"Like I'll b-believe that…" Trembling slightly, Takumi takes a deep breath. "Y-you think I'm ugly a-and hideous, but you're n-not brave enough to s-say it to my face."

Shizu asserts, "Unless you are talking about your personality in a metaphorical sense, I guarantee that I am unable to make any judgments about your physical appearance. Not that I care much about that in the first place…" She mutters that last bit under her breath.

Mulling this over for a moment, he chooses to continue glaring downwards. "This b-bag is just b-barely better than my face. Don't try and lie to me. I c-can see right through that bullshit."

"You got bullied about your appearance when you were younger." It's not a question, but it does come off a bit harsher than she meant it to.

"F-figure that out all on your own, h-huh?" He finally drops his arms back down, though probably only so that he can cross them. "Y-yeah. Face, body, voice, personality… Y-you name it, and they h-hated it. Couldn't stand my s-singing… Couldn't stand my face… Can't blame them…" He quiets down finally, looking defeated.

Shizu chooses to spare him of any more grief for the moment. "…I'm sorry you had to go through with all of that."

"W-whatever," he mumbles.

"Thank you for your time," she continues. "I'm sorry for catching you off guard. I'll let you go now." Before he can scamper off, she adds, "…If you ever need someone to rant to, I have been told that I'm a good listener."

He chokes a little and refuses to meet her eyes. "Yeah, sure you are. You and your notepad remember everything."

Sighing, she leans onto the wall opposite him. "Regardless, the offer still stands. That's all that I wanted to talk about for now."

Takumi seems to focus mostly on the "for now" part of her sentence. Giving a shaky nod, he takes a few slow steps before bolting away again. It appears that things aren't going to get any easier in the near future. How annoying.

* * *

 _Conversation with Takumi Haruko (3)_

 _\- Got bullied a lot during his early years, seemingly resulting in a huge inferiority complex and paranoia_

 _\- Bag could be a response to bullying_

 _\- Bullying seems to have lasted for a good while, perhaps took a while for him to finally hide his face? Maybe some other cause for wearing it?_

 _\- Never appeared physically in his cover songs, just posted the music_

* * *

As it turns out, Kazuha is the queen of surprises. Shizu had just been heading down to pick up her laundry, as it should have been dry around this time. However, when she arrived in the laundry room, Kazuha was there, actively folding her clothes for her.

"Excuse me, what exactly are you doing?" Shizu asks in what she hopes isn't too confrontational of a tone.

Kazuha looks a little surprised but smiles regardless. "Hey there, Shizu! I hope I'm not messing things up, but I came here to do my own laundry and I saw that yours was already done drying. I know that some of my stuff gets bad wrinkles if it's not sorted right away, and I didn't know how long they had been done. So, I sort of just started taking your clothes out and organizing them."

Returning the smile, Shizu says, "No, that's perfectly fine. Thank you very much. You didn't have to do that at all."

"It's no problem, really," Kazuha clarifies. "It's not like I'm busy with anything today… or any day, now that I think about it."

Shizu puts the hamper on the floor, kneels down next to her, and considers the pile. She's certain that the she wasn't too late picking up her clothing, so the amount that Kazuha has already folded is quite the achievement. Still, this is her stuff. It's only fair that she help finish what little remains. "It is a bit concerning that you have taken to entertaining yourself by doing extra laundry."

Kazuha gives a sad laugh. "Well, there's not much to do here. It's barely been more than a week, and I'm already starting to get weary in here. When the most exciting room in here is the lounge, that's not a great sign, you know?"

"Could you say that we're like a bunch of caged animals?" Shizu prods.

"Only if the cage is really bad," Kazuha claims after a few moments of thinking. "Most of the zoos that I've seen do their best to keep their animals happy and stimulated, but there are always a few that just completely mistreat them. Small living spaces, no toys, inadequate diets, no shelters to hide from visitors… it can get really bad."

"I can imagine." Shizu thinks about their own living conditions. They've got only the bare minimum necessary for modern life. Nothing in terms of entertainment has really been provided.

Nodding sadly, Kazuha continues. "Animals get really restless then. They'll start pacing around, biting on the bars of their cages, or sometimes they'll just do nothing at all. The managers of those zoos don't even care, though." Her fists start to clench. "As long as they get the animals there in the first place, that's all they care about. It's animal cruelty!"

There's fiery passion in Kazuha's eyes, but it's mixed with a sort of primal fear. Perhaps she's also picked up on the implications of what that means for their own situation. As long as Monokuma gets the desired behavior out of them, he's fine leaving them like this. That's not exactly a comforting topic at this moment, so Shizu asks a follow up question. "You are the Ultimate Zoologist, correct? Is there something you can do to stop this from happening, aside from campaigning against it?"

Kazuha sighs. "I've definitely put a some of the funding I've gotten into shutting those zoos down and relocating the animals to either better zoos or, in some cases, conservation areas, but there's lots of other things I have to spend it on, too. Conservation of endangered species is a huge priority, as is cleaning up areas that people have destroyed with pollution."

"It sounds like you rarely get to make use of the funding for personal reasons," Shizu notes.

"Oh, of course not." Kazuha shakes her head rapidly. "This is all personal stuff. It just so happens to also help out the environment a ton in the process. Besides, it's not like I spend every cent on zoology things. A lot of it gets sent back home to my family as well!"

Shizu recalls Kazuha's living situation from her previous talk. "I suppose that would help your parents out a lot. If they have more money, perhaps they could afford to work less."

Kazuha places the last of the shirt into Shizu's hamper while nodding. "They've been working so hard to support me and my siblings, so it's the least that I could for them. Now, they've finally got the time and energy to spend time together. I'm really grateful that I've been able to help out so much."

However, there's something off about this statement. Shizu scratches her chin. "The way that you're talking makes it sound like you're not spending time with them."

"Well, I've kind of gotta go around the world and help out animals globally, right?" Rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly, Kazuha says, "I'm being funded to do this stuff by the Ultimate Initiative, after all. Plus, if I don't lend a hand where it's needed, there's a chance that things won't change for the better, right?"

"I suppose not…" Sighing, Shizu picks up her hamper. "Thank you for helping me with this. Next time, however, you need not worry yourself about this. I am quite capable on my own."

Waving her off, Kazuha gives a friendly smile. "And I already told you that it's no worry at all. If there's anything I can do to help out, then I should do it. We've all got to do our best to make the world a better place. So take care of yourself!"

"I will see you later, then." With that, Shizu bids Kazuha farewell. She repeats the conversation over and over in her head as she lugs her hamper back up to her room. She doesn't want to forget any details before she has a chance to write them down.

* * *

 _Conversation with Kazuha Kimura (3)_

 _\- Seems grateful for the Ultimate Initiative scouting her, given all of her uses for her funds_

 _\- Spends time flying around the world helping with conservation efforts and studying_

 _\- Family is poor, so great deal of funds get sent back home_

 _\- Perhaps a little too self-sacrificial, given desire to jump in and help regardless of the situation_

 _\- Not exactly annoying behavior but could become concerning_

* * *

It might just be her ears tricking her, but Kazuha swears that she hears something coming from the lounge. It's faint, unlike the conversation she might be expecting to hear. Glancing at the clock, she realizes that… hang on… it's a little hard for her to focus. Yeah, okay, it's only a little after 6 PM. Maybe she should go check it out.

Rubbing her eyes and suppressing a yawn, she stumbles forward into the doorway of the lounge. She leans on the side and blinks rapidly before finally taking in the scenery. The only person inside is Chouki, who is, unsurprisingly, looking at the fish tank.

At the sound of her footsteps, he whirls around and glares. His body is tense, and he doesn't appear to relax at all when he sees that it's only her. "…Ugh," he grumbles.

Kazuha yawns again and puts on a small smile. "Oh, hey there Chouki. What are you doing out here? I hope I'm not interrupting your free time."

He scoffs. "Of course you are."

"Oh…" She wracks her brain for something to respond with and eventually comes up with, "Well… I hope you're enjoying yourself, then."

"I was." Narrowing his eyes, he refuses to let her out of his sight.

"Well then…" She feels her smile start to waver. "At least the fish are looking super nice and happy today."

Chouki's expression softens by a fraction, but she'll take any victory that she can get. "Someone's gotta make sure they're doing okay. There's no way I'm going to trust that bear to take care of them without someone holding him accountable."

"Then, you're doing a great job supervising them. I'm sure they're grateful for everything that you're doing."

"Please." He traces a finger along his hand, over his tattoos of his veins. "Don't patronize me like that. They're fish. I care for them, but that's all. I'm under no delusion that they're loyal to me or anything."

Kazuha frowns. "But you've been showing up every day here, right? Then, I'm sure they recognize you. Even just seeing someone visit them every day should give them enough stimuli to check you out from behind the glass. You're like a mini-fish hero."

"I'd rather not prescribe dumb human emotions to fish. They're natural and innocent. I thought you'd know more about that, being a zoologist and all," he accuses.

"I'm more into reptiles than fish if I'm gonna be honest." Her joke falls flat when her brain catches up to her mouth, and she remembers her audience. "But, anyways, I know that we can't one to one personify animals, but it still cheers me up to think about it."

Shaking his head, Chouki responds, "Not me."

"…Yeah, I kind of got that impression." She leans harder into the doorframe and winces as it digs into her shoulder.

A strange expression worms its way over Chouki's face as he looks at her. "…Why are you even still here? You're sounding even dumber than normal."

She flinches back at the insult. It hurt a lot more than she expected it to, honestly. "Sorry, I just wanted to check up on you. You've been all alone for a while now. It just seemed like a good opportunity to make sure you were doing alright."

"Hmmph," he huffs. "How'd you even know I was here in the first place? Tracking my schedule or something?"

"Huh? N-no, nothing like that. I just heard something in here, so I walked over."

"…I wasn't making any noise. Sounds like you're just imagining things." Chouki looks into her eyes again. "Sounds like you need some rest or something. It'd explain why you thought talking to me was a good idea at all."

"W-what? No, I'm fine!" To prove her point, Kazuha pushes herself off of the doorframe and stands at attention. "If anything, you're the one who needs some assistance."

"Yep, I knew it. You're delusional."

She pleads with him. "It's not healthy to lock yourself up without talking to anyone, though. Even if you are coming to look at the fish every day, that's no substitution for human interaction. Like, what about Pal? I'm sure he'd love to talk with you, even if it's just for a few minutes."

"Pal's a weirdo who thinks he's a siren." Despite his tone, he looks uncertain about the harshness of his statement.

"Maybe so, but he's your friend, right? …Acquaintance, maybe? It can't hurt to at least try, right?"

There's a glimmer of understanding in his eyes, but it's quickly snuffed out by indifference. "Tsk… guess you're not the only tired one if I'm considering listening to something like that. I need some rest."

When he moves to go for the door, she blocks his way. Nonplussed, he barely even considers her a threat, though he does appear annoyed that even she's taller than he is. Then, he grunts and pushes her aside. She's thrown wildly offbalance and only barely manages to latch onto the doorframe again. He takes the opportunity to skulk off, pouting all the way.

Kazuha stares after him and suddenly finds that she's breathing deeply. She stands there for a few more minutes before shaking her head and pushing herself upright. There will be time to dwell on that later, not that she wants to. It's not nighttime yet. There's still a lot left she could get done today. She'll have to make time to find Chouki again later.

* * *

Shizu leans absentmindedly on the kitchen wall, just out of sight from the door. This is probably one of the dumber ideas that she's had, if she's being honest with herself. Still, desperate times call for desperate measures. Over the past few days, Takumi has been even more absent than usual. Normally, she would see fit to give him some space, but she's starting to get concerned that he's not even eating anymore. Thus, she's decided to wait in the kitchen for several hours to see if he'll show up for a very late dinner.

She's been waiting here since 8:30 PM, but her patience has finally been rewarded. Around 11 PM, Takumi slinks into the kitchen, cautiously tiptoeing around. Despite this, however, he doesn't seem to have noticed her. That's going to make this awkward.

Shizu considers letting him discover her on his own before deciding that would be a terrible idea. Instead, she begins walking towards him. At the sound of her footsteps, he leaps into the air, whirls around, and freezes. "Good evening, Takumi."

"W-what are y-you doing here?!" he shrieks. "Y-you're gonna k-kill me, aren't you?!"

Well, that's a good starting point. "Of course not." Adjusting her glasses, she rolls her eyes. "I think I could come up with a better attack plan than casually walking towards you in plain sight."

"W-why else would y-you be waiting for m-me so l-late at night?" he stutters. His entire body is trembling so much that it's a wonder he's managed to stay standing.

"Literally the only reason I've sought you out thus far is to talk to you," Shizu explains, exasperation slipping into her voice. It's unfair because he has every reason to be afraid. At the same time, she is getting fed up with his skittishness. "Tonight is no different. You have been nearly impossible to find at all, so I had to come up with a new plan to talk to you."

She can hear his teeth chattering as he speaks. "Y-you want to interrogate m-me more?"

"As far as I can tell, you've only been eating at obscene hours like this. There is no way that is healthy, both for your body and for your mental health." Her voice is stern.

Takumi gulps. "W-why do you care about that? It's none of your concern."

Shizu crosses her arms. "It is most certainly my concern. All of us are trapped in this situation together, and our lives depend on one another. Even if you don't believe that I care about you as a person, at least accept that as the truth. At least believe that I have some selfish reason to care about your wellbeing."

"I don't w-want any of your pity," he mutters.

She tilts her head. "I'm sorry?"

He speaks with a bit more confidence than before. "I said that I don't want you to pity me. It's n-not worth anything, and I don't need any of it."

"Is that what you think this is?" she asks. "I assure you that I'm not attempting to imply that you would be weak for consulting with me."

"Sp-speak for yourself," Takumi retorts. "I-if you think th-this is about being weak, th-then you really don't know anything at all…"

Pinching her forehead and gritting her teeth, she says, "Then, please, help me understand. I can only do so much on my own, and, when the only context I have is you saying you don't want pity, then I have only a few ideas. Or do you not trust me to help?"

"You're either lying through your teeth about wanting to help or…" He trails off and makes a strangled noise. "W-whatever. The point is I've dealt with people like this for enough of my life to know there's no point to it. Things will only get worse."

Her glasses glint sharply. "Worse for you or worse for those that try to help you?"

When his body locks up and he refuses to speak, she has her answer. For the first time, it feels like she can see right through him, as if that bag on his head is his actual face. It crumples as he breathes deeply, filling the room with a light crinkle. They simply remain there in silence until she feels the need to say something.

"I don't know what happened in your life, so I hope you'll allow me to make a few mistakes in my current judgments." He remains silent, save for his breathing. Thus, she continues. "You're certainly right that you've got no reason to trust anyone, but it almost feels as though you don't want to let yourself trust anyone. Maybe someone got close to you in the past, and you feel as though you hurt them. Maybe someone important in your life left unexpectedly, and you don't want to feel that pain ever again. But, at this point in time, I'm going to stop prying."

"H-huh?" Takumi looks up for the first time in a few minutes.

She repeats herself. "I've only been selfish these past few days. If you don't want to talk about your life, then there's nothing I can do to make you feel comfortable about that. I've learned all that I can about you, but that information has certainly come at a cost."

He steadies himself. "S-so, what are you g-going to do then?"

"I'm going to leave you alone." She marches towards the kitchen doors without looking back. "That's what you wanted, right?"

Takumi starts to say something. "I-"

Though Shizu waits for him to finish, he never does. In the end, she sighs and waves behind her. "Goodnight Takumi. Please, if nothing else, take care of yourself." She doesn't hear him call out again as she makes her way back to her room.

* * *

 _Conversation with Takumi Haruko (4)_

 _\- Trust issues seem to stem from past somewhere, though reason for them is anyone's guess_

 _\- Seems to be miserable not trusting people yet forces himself to do it anyways_

 _\- Do not attempt to contact him again, even if it seems like a good idea at the time. You will only make things worse_

* * *

Takumi's nerves are on fire as he peers into the dining room. He can do this. He knows that he can do this. There's nothing wrong with going to eat lunch at a regular time. If anybody thinks it's weird, he can just tell them to think about the time. Or maybe he could just run away again.

He relaxes a smidge when he sees that nobody else is there. Right. It looks like he doesn't have to have an escape plan ready at the moment. Feeling ever so slightly more confident, he walks into the kitchen.

…and stifles a scream when he sees that Kogi is leaning against the counter, staring at the oven.

Kogi looks over his shoulder, sees Takumi, and waves at him, all in one casual motion. Then, he flips back around without a care in the world.

"Y-you!" Takumi stutters.

He doesn't turn around again. "Yes, it's me."

"W-what are y-you doing here?" He hasn't run away yet, so that's a huge victory in his mind.

"I'm making food," Kogi replies dully.

Takumi points in accusation. "Th-that's not what I mean, a-and you know it! I m-mean, why are you here in the first place? W-weren't you the one m-making a big stink about l-leaving the group?!"

"Does it look like I'm with the group right now?" Kogi shrugs. "Sure hope not. Otherwise, I've been really blind."

He has to be mocking him. That's the only reasonable explanation. "H-how can you just stand there and j-joke about that? There's n-no way you're s-suddenly comfortable b-being discovered by everyone. Y-you've gotta at least feel embarrassed or s-something!"

"What a pain." Pinching his forehead, Kogi faces him. "I'm not taking back what I said, and I'm not changing my mind all of the sudden either. All I'm doing is making some food because I felt hungry. I didn't mention anything about going on a hunger strike."

"B-but…" Takumi trails off, in disbelief that, yes, this is actually his argument.

Kogi rolls his eyes. "What about you then? How come you're out and about? Thought you were one of the ones who went into hiding."

"I-I'll have you know that I-I'm just getting lunch! That's all." To punctuate his point, Takumi crosses his arms.

He nods. "So you're a hypocrite then."

"What?!"

"Hey, you just yelled at me for apparently breaking my promise for food. Yet, here you are doing the same thing. Hence, hypocrite."

Takumi can just hear the calm smugness dripping off of his voice, and it makes him bristle. "It's different. Aren't you supposed to be a protestor or something?"

Kogi glowers at him. "That's my talent, yes."

"Th-then, you should h-hold yourself to some kind of higher standard o-or something," Takumi declares. "Y-you tried to lead e-everyone into splitting up, but y-you're not even comfortable g-going through with it completely. P-plus, i-if you do change your mind, then the others a-are gonna expect you to apologize or something."

"Didn't realize you were a protesting expert." Not giving him the chance to respond to that remark, Kogi continues. "I wasn't trying to lead anyone. I just said what I thought and why I thought it. If anyone else agreed with me, then that's their decision. It sounds to me like you're more concerned about your own actions then you are with me."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're getting cross with me for apparently having second thoughts about going solo. Let me clear something up for you right now: I don't regret it. I still think this is the best way to keep myself safe. But it sounds like you've got a much greater scope of this splitting ways than I did."

Takumi clenches his fists. "You said y-you wanting nothing to do with anyone else. That s-sure sounds to me like y-you don't even want to look at any of the others."

"Yeah, it does, at least to you. That's the scope I was talking about." Kogi drums his fingers along the kitchen counter. "You've taken your own standards, applied them to me, and then got shocked when they're different. Hell, it almost sounds like you're having second thoughts about leaving everyone."

"Sh-shut up!" Takumi shouts.

Nodding, Kogi turns away. "Okay, have it your way."

The two of them stand there with only the noise coming from the oven filling the room. No matter how much Takumi glares at the back of Kogi's head, he refuses to acknowledge him. Finally, he gets fed up with the atmosphere in the room and storms into the pantry. Secretly, he hopes the banging of the door startles Kogi slightly.

Takumi's eyes scan the shelves for something to eat. There's no way that he's going to stick around in the dining hall for lunch, not now. No, he needs something to take back to his room. Eventually, his eyes fall on a bag of potato chips. They're not healthy in the slightest, but he doesn't care. They taste good, and that's all that matters. As he goes to pick the bag up, however, he spots another bag that's already been opened. For a brief moment, he stares at it. Then, for no particular reason whatsoever, he picks it up.

* * *

All throughout breakfast, Shizu couldn't help but glance over in Kazuha's direction. Something was definitely off about her. She wasn't talking as animatedly as usual, for one. Even as Soraru shakes her shoulder to get her excited, the most she can manage is a little smile. Her eyes have some fairly dark circles underneath them too. It's not a great sign.

Therefore, she waves off Michio's invitation to hang out in favor of confronting the zoologist before she has a chance to rush off and do who knows what. Given her current state, it would probably have something to do with collapsing. She might have already, actually, since she went to put her dishes away a while ago and hasn't come out since. The others don't seem all that worried, so it's likely she's overreacting slightly.

Shizu waits until the group has left before heading into the kitchen to talk. Kazuha is facing the door, washing off a plate in the sink. She's humming to herself, but her eyes are glazed over, and the circles seem even darker than before. Shizu whistles sharply to get her attention.

Kazuha barely seems aware of what just happened. "Huh?" she mumbles, blinking slowly. Then, she notices what she's doing and freaks out. "Huh?! Oh no! I'm wasting water!" She hastens to turn off the sink, dropping her plate in the process. "Aah!"

Rushing to her side, Shizu picks the plate off of the floor and stares into her eyes. "I'm not even going to bother with the pretenses. Please tell me what the problem is, preferably before you drop more dishes."

"I-it's nothing, really," Kazuha tries to persuade her, raising up both of her hands. "I'm just a little sleepy. That's all."

Once more, Shizu fixates on the bags underneath her eyes. Now that she's looking, Kazuha's hair is also fairly messy, with several split ends and tangles. "In that case, please inform me why you are having trouble sleeping. And don't attempt to lie to me."

"Hey, there's no need to be so pushy," Kazuha bites back. However, she instantly looks alarmed with what she just said, eyes wide and hands rushing up to her cheeks. "Wait, no! I'm sorry. That just slipped out. Please don't take that to heart!"

"It's fine. I am being a little intrusive. Given your current state, you've earned the right to be annoyed." Having said this, Shizu moves on. "However, you still have not answered my question."

Kazuha holds her forearm and averts her eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just… I can't stop worrying about everyone. I guess that it's been messing up my sleep schedule a little."

"So, your exhaustion has come only from staying up late and has nothing to do with anything else." Shizu's tone is flat.

"W-well, I mean… Probably?"

"It has absolutely nothing to do with you attempting to help others out with menial tasks that they may or may not have asked you directly about."

Kazuha's stiffening is all the proof that Shizu needs. She tugs on her baseball cap, covering her entire face in shadows. Her mouth is a thin line that refuses to move.

Shizu has to be the one to move things along, apparently. "There's no way to make this not sound like a lecture, so I refuse to even try. You need to take a break, and start being concerned for yourself first and foremost. That's easier said than done, but look at yourself right now. Please at least attempt to make that effort."

"But everyone needs help!" Kazuha shouts. "They're all lost and confused, and several of them have already thrown themselves completely into panicking!"

"That may be so, but that doesn't mean that you must be the sole undertaker of this task," Shizu reasons.

Kazuha clenches her fists. "You can't just say that! All you've been doing this whole time is hide by yourself and take notes on everyone! How's that going to help people?"

Shizu involuntarily tenses up. "That…" She takes a few breaths and calms herself. "That is a fair assessment of my actions. It is my preferred way of helping people, as I cannot force myself into action unless I have a good idea on how to act. Still, I reiterate that your own method of helping is detrimental to yourself."

"But that's just it! You say that you're trying to help, but you're doing nothing! How am I supposed to stay back and wait when I know that no one else is going to do anything? Do you just want people to suffer?!" Tears are beginning to stream down her face.

Crossing her arms, Shizu remains silent.

This only further impassions Kazuha. "You can see it yourself during breakfast, right? Everyone's smiling and laughing, but they can't keep their eyes from darting around, worried that, someday soon, someone is going to strike. They remember the people who have give up trusting one another, and they're ashamed to admit that they're maybe thinking the same thing. They need someone that they know they can trust, and no one is trying to step up. Is this just supposed to go on forever?!"

Suddenly, her spirit breaks entirely, and she collapses onto the tile flooring. Shizu slowly kneels down to meet her. She desperately wants to physically comfort her, but she has no idea what to do with her hands, so she awkwardly pats Kazuha's back.

Apparently, this is at least somewhat correct, as Kazuha quickly engulfs her in a hug. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she wails.

Slowly, Shizu returns the hug. "It's fine. You've not said anything wrong at all. You have nothing to be sorry for." This only makes her cry harder.

Eventually, she runs out of tears. With several shaky breaths, she begins to rise. Shizu, trapped in the hug, stands up along with her as support. Once fully upright, Kazuha disentangles herself, sniffs loudly, and pulls her hat back up. Her eyes are red. "I'm sorry for being so rude to you. Even if you're telling me that I wasn't wrong, I should have said it in a different way."

"If you need to let out your emotions, then I'm willing to be that outlet. After all," Shizu smirks as she pushes up her glasses, "I haven't been doing much besides taking notes. It's the least I could do." Kazuha looks like she wants to apologize again, so she cuts her off. "I already told you that you weren't wrong. You've got nothing to be sorry for. But, if you really want to apologize to me, you would head back to your room and get some rest."

"That…" Kazuha mutters. "That actually sounds pretty nice right about now."

"It's your choice," Shizu says calmly.

She nods. "I think… I think I'm going to go back to sleep. Thank you for listening to… that."

Shizu is thrown off guard when Kazuha rushes in for another hug. This one is quicker, as Kazuha quickly pulls away. With a little smile, the first genuine one that she's given all morning, she walks out of the kitchen, presumably back to the fourth floor. Shizu hopes that no one else stops her on her way there.

* * *

 _Conversation with Kazuha Kimura (4)_

 _\- Worrying tendencies have finally come to a head, as she's been losing sleep trying to assist people and worrying about what might happen_

 _\- Probably would have kept up façade until called out on it_

 _\- Don't know if she's going to slow down at least slightly, but perhaps rest will clear her head_

 _\- I may need to act sooner in the future_

* * *

Shizu had just gotten out of the shower and was about to start getting ready for bed, only for her doorbell to ring. It's not all that late, but she is concerned nevertheless. What was so important that it couldn't wait until tomorrow?

To her utter shock, Takumi stands at the entrance of her room, with a strange mixture of terror and determination in his eyes. "…Can I come in?" he mutters.

"…Sure," she eventually says. This is certainly piquing her interest. Stepping out of the way, she gestures for him to walk inside. He looks like he wants to bolt but instead speed walks into her room.

Once she closes the door, he speaks up. "Her name was Yuri."

She blinks. "I'm sorry?"

"You kept b-bugging me about why I wore the bag. Yuri's why." The words seem to take an infinite amount of force for him to say, and he doesn't appear able to speak any more.

"I see…" Shizu murmurs. "So, was this Yuri a bully of yours or something?"

"S-shut your mouth!" he yells suddenly. "D-don't talk about her l-like that!"

Raising up both of her hands, she attempts to calm him down. "Okay, I apologize for saying that. I had nothing else to go off of, and you did not seem keen on explaining. In that case, was she your friend?"

He looks at the ceiling wistfully, his rage evaporating. "Yuri was… she w-was everything to m-me. W-when nobody else c-cared, when nobody else th-thought anything of me, she was there. Not even my p-parents thought I was good f-for anything, but not Yuri. She n-never doubted me, th-thought my covers were the greatest thing i-in the world."

"Sounds like that's what you thought of her," Shizu muses.

He gives a bitter laugh. "N-not like I thought that at first. Hated how st-stubborn she was. Th-thought she was just making f-fun of me. But she n-never did. She actually managed to beat my stubbornness. Th-that's just the k-kind of person she was. Couldn't say no to her."

Truthfully, Shizu has a very hard time imagining that, but she chooses not to say that. Instead, she replies, "Was she involved in any way with your cover songs?"

"Yeah. We c-collaborated on a bunch of songs and st-stuff." Somehow, through his bag, he looks nostalgic. "Th-those were the greatest years o-of my life. Even managed to w-work up the nerve to ask her out a-and all. Sh-shouldn't even have worried, since she s-said yes right away. No matter what I was d-doing, she was always there f-for me. "

"And then she left," she finishes.

He clenches his fists. "Y-yeah."

Shizu has no idea what to say in response to a breakup, but, for better or worse, she never gets the opportunity to say anything about it.

"It w-was supposed to be a normal date. N-nothing special. J-just a w-walk in the park. A-and then…" His breathing quickens, and his stutter gets worse. "Th-the c-c-c-car."

"Oh." It's all she can say in response, and she kicks herself for it.

"I-it came r-r-rushing right at me." His bag is starting to get wet as his tears soak through the paper. "B-but, she w-was there f-for me. Y-Yuri pushed me out of the w-way. Sh-she t-t-took the hit. A-and… and then…" He sniffs loudly and is unable to continue.

Shizu quickly rushes to his side. "I'm sorry."

He leans into her completely and loses it. "Sh-she never m-made it out of th-the hospital. I n-never even g-got the ch-chance to s-say th-thank you or g-goodbye."

"She died protecting you. I'm certain she did not regret that," Shizu explains.

"Sh-she was always protecting me!" he wails. "Sh-she was the o-only one who was e-ever there f-for me, and I killed her! D-don't even s-say I d-didn't, 'c-cause I'm not listening t-to that!"

She holds onto his shoulder. "…Very well then."

"C-couldn't even bear t-to look at m-myself again after that." Takumi grasps at his bag with a single hand. "Th-that's why I wear th-this stupid thing… C-can't look at th-the face of her killer. P-pathetic, right?"

She dodges the question. "It sounds as though this has been weighing down on you for a long while now. I'm grateful that you trusted me enough to tell me this. May I ask you what made you decide to do this?"

"No one c-can ever replace her. I d-don't want to feel that way ever again. B-but I realized…" He starts to right himself a little, pulling out of her grasp. "I m-might not ever have to feel that w-way if I p-push people away… b-but I'd never h-have had Yuri i-in the first place if I p-pushed her away too."

"Was it worth it?" she asks. "Was the pain of loss worth getting all of those precious years with her?"

"I don't know," Takumi admits. "B-but I've only ever h-had nothing since. W-well, I've h-had my service dog, a-and he's wonderful, b-but he's not a p-person. I'll n-never know if s-something worth losing i-is better than nothing if I n-never let m-myself have something."

Shizu adjusts her glasses. "So, what will you do then?"

"In a h-horrid place like this, l-loss is gonna be inevitable." His fists start to clench, but they relax suddenly. "B-but, if I treat it l-like it's nothing, th-then that's almost w-worse than feeling l-loss, right? So, I'll try."

The confidence in his voice is unlike anything she's heard before. "You'll try to get along with everyone, or you'll try to not to feel anything?"

He shouts, "W-which one do you think?! A-after everything I've s-said, that's your question?"

"Maybe." She smirks.

"J-jerk," he mutters.

She dips back into being serious. "I think that's a noble goal. Even if it is just in small, incremental steps, I think most people will appreciate your efforts."

"D-don't expect me to t-take off my b-bag or anything anytime s-soon, though," he declares. "C-can't just feel comfortable o-out of nowhere…"

"You've already talked to the person who's been bothering you the most," she explains. "I'd say that's a huge step outside of your comfort zone. There's no need to push yourself too far, so please take a breather. You deserve some rest."

"Ugh… Don't remind me. Hope I don't regret this in the morning." He starts walking towards the exit. "Thanks for listening, I guess. Later."

"Hold on. Will I see you at breakfast tomorrow?"

Takumi pauses at the door before turning around. She almost thinks she can see a smile underneath his bag. "Sure. You can count on it." Then, he walks into the hallways, and the door swings shut behind him. Somehow, Shizu can't stop herself from smiling either.

* * *

 _Conversation with Takumi Haruko (5)_

 _\- Reasoning for wearing bag on his head relates to girlfriend who sacrificed herself to save him_

 _\- Hasn't had anyone believe in him except for her and also service dog, could explain why he's certain misfortune will fall to those he trusts_

 _\- Chose to confide in me, no pressuring on my part_

 _\- Claims to be about to make an effort to rejoin the group_

 _\- Could learn a thing from his ability to put his paranoia and pride aside and admit when he's wrong_

* * *

The couch in the lounge, Shizu decides, is incredibly comfortable. It's not quite at bed levels of comfort, but it's definitely soft enough to suit her just fine. In addition, it keeps her upright, meaning that her brain won't start putting itself in sleep mode. Truly, this is the perfect place to go over her notes again.

"Um, excuse me," a voice calls from the hallway. "Are you busy, Shizu? I can come back later if you want."

Kazuha is standing in the doorway, hands clasped behind her back. Shizu gives her a quick shake of her head. "It's nothing that I can't do a little bit later. I'm free to talk, if that's what you need."

"Oh, thank you!" Grinning widely, she takes a seat next to Shizu and bobs up and down happily.

Shizu regards her with an even stare. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Totally! Thanks for asking," she confirms. "Also, sorry again for letting all of that stuff loose on you. I know you said not to apologize, but I can't stop myself from feeling bad. So you have to accept it, whether you want to or not." She giggles after saying this.

"Very well then." Tapping her pen on her notepad, Shizu replies, "What about… other areas? Are you having trouble stopping yourself there as well?"

Kazuha sinks a little into the cushions. "I don't think I'll ever fully be able to stop myself from trying to help as many people and animals as I can. It's part of who I am," she admits. "But I've given it a lot of thought."

"Please, take your time."

"I've been looking after people my entire life. You already know about my younger siblings, right? I think I mentioned them." When she gets confirmation, she continues. "But, I don't think I ever really stopped, y'know? Even now, I've been sending them a lot of the money I've gotten from the Ultimate Initiative. Because, if I don't support them, then my parents will have to start working overtime again, and nothing will change. I can't just stop doing everything that I can to help."

"I'm sensing a bit of a catch here," Shizu mutters.

Kazuha nods. "I hadn't really thought about it before, or maybe I stopped myself from thinking about it. They're my family, but I'm their family as well. Wait, hang on, I'm not saying that I don't think they love me! That's not what I'm trying to imply at all!"

Shizu attempts to puzzle out what she means. "Are you wondering, perhaps, if they're just as worried about you in return? Worried about their daughter who spends a lot of time traveling the world, feeling homesick and lonely?"

"I saw myself as doing the right thing, so I never considered how I was doing at all or that others might be worried about me." Kazuha sighs. "It sounds totally selfish when I word it like that, huh? Like I think I'm above everyone else."

"That's not the impression that I've gotten. It sounds more like you've subconsciously put yourself lower than everyone else, as though you're not allowed to have negative feelings."

"I'm trying to be someone that others feel comfortable relying on." She gives a sad chuckle. "But I can't really do that if I start breaking down."

Shizu clicks her tongue. "That reaction is somewhat inevitable given the pressure and the current circumstances."

"Right. Like I said, I've been doing a lot of thinking." Kazuha presses her hands into the cushions as she sits up straighter. "I already told you that I don't think I'll be able to ever fully stop myself from wanting to help, and I don't think that leaving everyone to fend for themselves is a great idea either. But I promise that I won't let myself burn out like that ever again."

Considering her statement, Shizu eventually responds, "An interesting proposal. However, I hope you don't plan on convincing me with that. What sort of measures are you going to take to prevent that?"

Kazuha beams at her. "You're gonna help me!"

She blanks. "…Come again?"

"Come on, keep up a little," she giggles. "You said it yourself, right? You've been spending a lot of time just taking notes, and you need to get out there more often. Well, this'll solve both of our problems. If we're both working together, then I'll have less individual workload. That'll help me keep in tip-top mental shape. Plus, it gets you, y'know, doing something!"

"…And if I refuse?" she asks.

"Shizu, I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't back out of something like this," Kazuha says.

She shuffles around on the couch. "That's quite a lot of confidence you've got there."

"It doesn't just have to be us either. I'm sure that Michio and Pal and Sawako would love to pitch in and help. It'll be a whole group effort."

"Hmm… a group effort." Shizu smiles. "If it's going to be at that scale, I suppose it only makes sense to make sure everything is running smoothly."

"That's the spirit!" Kazuha cheers. "We'll keep everyone together until we finally find a way out of this situation. Then, we'll work together to escape."

"Sounds like I'll be relying on you for a little while longer," she muses.

The two of them chat for much longer than Shizu anticipated. They don't really have any big plans other than a nebulous "work together", but, for once, Shizu feels comfortable with that. There's something about Kazuha's cheer and confidence that makes her feel at ease with not plotting out all of the answers. Truthfully, she's grateful to have gotten to know her.

* * *

 _Conversation with Kazuha Kimura (5)_

 _\- Self-sacrificing nature deep within her, unlikely to ever fully go away_

 _\- Feels responsible for looking after all of her family, even at this point in time_

 _\- Had issues fully realizing the own issues with her own nature, as attitude certainly wasn't a bad thing on its own_

 _\- Endeavors to take more time for herself, if only to ensure that she's able to help everyone out to the fullest_

 _\- I've been roped into socializing more, not entirely sure how to feel about this_

* * *

A/N: Hey folks. Sorry this took a while to get out. It's not exactly the next bit of story, but I hope this has been entertaining in it's own right. I do plan on finishing every characters' free time events if they didn't survive to the end of the chapter, so you can expect more of these in the future. The little bonus scenes without Shizu are hopefully interesting in their own right, and I hope that they're not too jarring transition-wise. The actual next chapter is still going to be a while, however. It might even take longer to get out than this one, if my workload has anything to say about it. In any case, I hope you all have a fantastic day.


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